On Monday 26 September at 6:30 pm, the packing plant of the Argentinian company Extraberries de Concordia S.A. suffered a fire that for now has been evaluated as accidental. This company supplies an average of 800 tonnes per year, making it one of the leading producers and suppliers of Argentinian blueberries. No personal injuries or damage have been reported, but the plant will not be operational until further notice.
Carlos Stabile, Extraberries Project Manager, tells us about the situation: "There is still no estimate of the losses, but we are certain that we have lost much of the material and machinery in this packing plant. The causes of the fire are being evaluated. Fortunately, the damage is covered by insurance and therefore the incident will not have a major impact on the functioning of the company. It is worth stressing that this situation only affects the farm in the area of Concordia."
"Fortunately, production has not been affected and operations in the field will not suffer any significant alterations. The packing activities will be shared by our plant in Metan, in the province of Salta, and various alternatives have been offered to us, altruistically, by producers in the Concordia area; therefore, all operations will be carried out and the programmes agreed with each of our clients will be fulfilled," assures Stabile.
"Our blueberries will reach their destinations at the expected times. Thanks to the support of Argentina's blueberry community, distributors, customers and colleagues, we can guarantee that our distribution programmes won't be affected and delays in the shipments will be minimal," concludes the representative.