The slowdown in the growth of global production and the increased demand from Asia favoured both of these Argentine fruits.
The export of apples and pears recovers some of the volume it lost in 2012, when it fell to a minimum in the last decade, and also managed its highest level ever up until July this year.
According to Senasa, up to July, 129,000 tonnes of apples were sold abroad, 18.3% more than in the same period in 2012, when sales had fallen by 41% from the previous year and only 109,000 tonnes were sold abroad.
Sales of pears abroad improved by 15.7% and reached 390,000 tonnes up to July, compared to the 337,000 tonnes sold in the same period last year, when they fell by 22%.
Other good news this year is the high average value achieved by the two fruits abroad, marking a historic record level. Apples achieved an FOB price of US $925 per exported ton. The figure is 6% higher than in 2012 but double that of 2005, when it was traded at US $464.
Meanwhile, in the case of pears, prices averaged US $916 per ton, which marks a 3.5% increase over last year. It is also 86% higher than what was achieved in 2005, according to the Senasa. In both cases, there were increases in value every year, with just a slight stagnation or fall, depending on the fruit, in 2009, as a result of the global crisis.
According to the newspaper, Rio Negro, this increase in prices, when the international markets were going through a recession, is explained by two factors. The first reason is that there was a slowdown in the growth of the world's production of apples.
Secondly, the increase in demand for these fruits from the Asian continent, which allowed using the potential oversupply that there was in the developed markets (those that are considered ripe for the fruit industry), whose economies are undergoing serious problems. This could have helped the local production and allowed international prices to reach the high values that they did.
However, while Russia is a prime destination for local apples, their average price was low: US $ 876 per ton. The best prices were achieved in France (US $ 1,240), Brazil (US $1,047) and the UAE (US $1,012).
Brazil is the main destination for pears (103,000 tonnes) and after Mexico, which achieved prices of US $1,320, has the highest prices (US $982).
Source: Infocampo.com.ar