Slow start for Argentinian topfruit exports
Severe problems have affected the start of the harvests of pome fruit in the zones of Rio Negro and Neuquen (the main productive areas of these fruits in Argentina). During the last week of February, bad weather conditions affected part of the fruit for export, due to heavy rains and hail. Also, at the beginning of the harvests, there were protests by the fruit packers, making the packing labor even slower.
However, and as explained by Miguel Angel Giacinti from Gabinete MAG, the main factor that explains the decrease of the exports in the firsts weeks of the year is: “the high costs in dollars of logistics and packing, as a consequence of the high imbalance between inflation (wage adjustments, increase of the raw material price, fuel and other supplies) and the devaluation of the Argentinian peso against the American dollar”. Due to this, the export of the premium quality fruit was privileged, “explaining the lower packing of fruit”. The adverse weather only "marked the economic situation of the sector, regarding the available supply for export".
The situation previously explained has been reflected in the export of Argentinian pome fruit during the first 8 weeks of the year, which show a lower quality compared to the previous 10 seasons. Compared to last season, the figures show a 61% less in apples and 30% less in pears, as shown in the table.
Source: www.iqonsulting.com