The first shipments of tomatoes from Argentina entered Paraguay this week through the port of Ita Enramada. The import was authorized by the Senave to meet local demand. Despite the legal authorization, this product continues to be smuggled into the country.
The National Plant Health and Seed Quality Service (Senave) authorized the importation of tomato last Tuesday, granting five weekly Afidi (Phytosanitary Accreditation of Imports) to cover the demand for domestic consumption of this item.
The import was authorized because the national tomato production, including what can still be produced in the area of 3 de Febrero in the department of Caaguazu, would only cover 35% to 40% of the country's local demand.
Officials of the Senave said that, up until yesterday at noon, two trucks with 1,400 boxes of tomatoes from Argentina had entered the country.
They said that three of the five authorized Afidi would enter through that port, and that the remaining would enter through Ciudad del Este (Brazilian tomatoes). That depends on the price, they said.
Source: abc.com.py