Apple producers have expressed concern that consumers should be able to opt for the domestic product at almost half the price that they would pay for the imported varieties which the market has been offering for several months.
Last year, pear producers only harvested 10% of the volume they expected and the fruit had a low quality because of weather issues. Meanwhile, apple producers were only able to harvest 35% of the expected volume, said Gustavo Martinez, a delegate of the Melilla Youth Cooperative (Jumecal) when speaking to the Council of Federated Agricultural Cooperatives (CAF).
As a result of this situation, consumers opted for imported apples, which were being sold for $120 a kilo. The country imported apples from five countries: Argentina, Chile, Spain, France, and Italy.
The leader said that, as a result of the excessive imports, several supermarkets were still selling a kilo of apples for $90 to $100 Guaranies and that the domestic production could be sold at less than half the price of the imported apples.
Martinez said he respected the conditions of free trade, but that unfortunately the larger stores weren't offering this fruit to the consumers. They might be able to opt for a fresh, high quality product at half the price of the imported apples, said the producer.
The producer said that this year's harvest had been the opposite of the 2016 harvest, as the pear and apple harvest and quality had been higher than expected.
Source: elobservador.com.uy