The heavy and constant rainfall in the region of Piura, which has affected bananas and rice products the most, has alarmed the agricultural sector.
Agraria.pe spoke with the president of the National Banana Board (JNB), Valentin Ruiz Delgado, who said that the rains had affected the banana sector in various ways, as they erode the soils, flood the plantations, and damage the roads, so the vehicles can't go to the farms to pick up the fruits.
In that regard, he stressed that under normal conditions, Piura exported an average of 200 containers of organic bananas per week, but that due to the rains they were only being able to export 140 containers.
Valentin Ruiz said that each container had 1,080 boxes of bananas and that each box contained 18.14 kilos of organic bananas. The price per box is US $13.40. Thus, since producers aren't being able to export 60 containers each week, they are losing US $868,320 per week.
"We won't be able to comply with some contracts because of this natural phenomenon. According to the specialists, the rains will continue until April and we do not know what their intensity will be. It would be regrettable if they continue to be as intense as now," he said.
At another point, the president of the JNB said the rains and the higher humidity generated a proliferation of pests and diseases, such as the red spot, and maturation problems.
"We ask producers and authorities to have a permanent prevention culture to minimize the effects of this phenomena that is generating large losses for producers and the general population," he concluded.
Piura has 6,500 hectares devoted to organic bananas for export. These hectares belong to 7,000 farmers, he said.
Source: agraria.pe