A couple of months before the mandarin campaign in Argentina ends producers continue to feel the effects of climate change and the international situation. Many believe that there will be a 20% decrease in this year's production, when compared to last season. According to producers in the region, "even though the mandarin campaign is on track, we will have far fewer volumes than last year; mainly because this campaign started quite late. This delay was caused by the high volatility of the Russian market at the beginning of the season, as Argentina has a variety that it mainly exports to this market. Seeing this instability, many producers and exporters decided not to harvest this variety."
Furthermore, the current situation has been affected by the low profitability that some crops have generated in recent years, so many independent producers have neglected their lands and have generated a limited production. "It's a mixture of production and market issues. There is little fruit, but its quality is good. Medium and large companies have taken proper care of their crops, so they have adequate yields, but many small farmers have not taken appropriate measures."
"Due to the losses in production, we couldn't take advantage of much of Europe's demand. At the national level, we do not have enough fruit with the certification required by the European Union, so exporting it is a little more complicated. The high costs of these certifications are forcing many exporters to consider exporting their products to other markets that are more attractive and less demanding. Over the years, the number of hectares certified for exports to this continent has declined significantly," said the exporters in the area.
The situation is not expected to change in the remaining months of the campaign, thus the exporters tend to look for countries that have more accessible export requirements. "We prefer to opt for countries like Russia, as certification costs are much lower and demand is relatively stable. Destinations like the Philippines and Indonesia are relatively new markets that are taking part of the production that was previously destined for Russia. We are being payed $10 dollars for a 10-kilo box, which is equivalent to the price we received in past years."