Javier Lojo, specialist in fruit crops, said "it is the first time in the history of the Upper Valley that there are no shipments of pears in January due to the crisis affecting the activity. In terms of production, there's a little more fruit, 1.6 million tons of pears and apples, which is within the historical average. It is a normal crop, but much of that fruit is being lost, especially the Williams variety, which is our flagship product for export to the European markets."
Lojo said that, "there are about 500,000 tons of Williams pear, but only about 200,000 tons will be harvested. The remaining 300,000 tons represent about $250-$300 million dollars in exports."
He also said that, "the producers throw about 8,000 kilos away these days. The packers are unable to receive them because their funding was cut. Additionally, prices have fallen because of the market crisis being experienced in Russia. Last year a box was sold between $18-20 dollars, and now it costs less than $10. That's just not profitable for anyone."
Lojo said "the apple harvest would amount to 800,000 tons, and the situation is even worse in apples since the local production costs are very high when compared to competitor countries. A box can be placed at $18-20 in Europe, but Chile and New Zealand are placing it at $4 or $5 dollars below that value, so Argentina is left out of the market."
Asked about some sort of official aid he said "the first negotiations with the Nation began in December. Producers were ensured that they would receive 300 million pesos to fund the fruits' harvest in the first half of January. The second week of January the Ministry of Economy rejected the proposal and suggested they only got 50 million. The other 50 million should come from the hand of the provinces."
Finally, he stated that, "political priorities do not usually coincide with the priorities of the regional economy, and the province is negotiating to bring aid to the producers, but this is an election year and interests are set on getting income in other ways, such as the extensions of oil contracts, which generate a lot of money."
Source: infocampo.com.ar