Argentina's fruit sector faces a price crisis

The fruit sector's economic activity is currently experiencing a crisis that is largely due to the disruption caused by high costs. Several factors cause this situation and it is more and more necessary that producers, retailers, and the Government of Argentina work together to contain them. To face this crisis, the Government has put in place the Economic Emergency Regime, a tool that provides support for the continuity of the region's production and alleviates the effects of a situation that led several companies to the limit of their operation and others to almost disappear.

Among other companies, the Emergency Regime benefits the Moño Azul company. "Each year, the company packs 3 million boxes of apples and pears that it sends to the most demanding markets. Our commitment this season is to increase the volume achieved in the previous season, so that we can reduce the effects of this crisis," stated Adrian Botti, the company's sales manager for Latin America.

"We are very optimistic about this season because we trust that the commercial alliance we have with Europe will be key for Moño Azul. We believe that the conditions can be given for this to be a year of opportunities, therefore, being present at the Berlin Fair is essential to maintain contact with our current and potential customers. In addition, the markets' feedback we get in this fair is very important to make business decisions," he added.

In the previous season, the best markets for our pears were the United States and Italy. Meanwhile, the local market was still better for apples, he stated. Moño Azul works with the Williams, B. D'Anjou, Packhams, Abate Fetel, and B. Bosc pear varieties, and the Cripps Pink, Red Delicious, Gala, and Granny Smith apple varieties.

Currently, sales in the domestic and international markets are growing. The company exports more than two million cases a year to Brazil, United States, Mexico, Canada, the European Union, Eastern Europe, and countries in the medium and Far East. In the domestic market, the company supplies large supermarket chains and retail stores 800,000 to 900,000 boxes per year.

The harvest season of the Williams pear started in January. "We process more than 60,000 tons of fresh fruit per year, which we pack in our two large packing plants, where we classify the fruit by variety, size and color through modern pre packing and packing lines," Botti stated. Moño Azul preserves its fruit in its own cold storage rooms. The company also has 16 pre-cooling tunnels with the capacity to cool 32 pallets in 24 hours.

Mono Azul is an Argentine company that produces apples and pears. It has more than 1,700 hectares in Rio Negro and Neuquen that are planted with pome and stone fruit trees, as this geographical location and climatic characteristics favor excellent quality and health in its fruits. In addition, Moño Azul also works with integrated producers that have approximately 1,000 hectares and that follow the same technical and environmental guidelines as they do.

"We use the most modern management techniques in our plantations, such as the Integrated Fruit Production System, a technology that minimizes the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The main pillars of our production are Integrated Pest Management, Integrated Nutritional Management, and Sustainability," Botti said. Moño Azul complies with low waste production protocols, Global GAP® - Grasp, good manufacturing practices, HACCP, system analysis of hazards and critical control points, both in the productive sector and in its processing plants.

This company also has an excellent brand positioning in the domestic market, and its quality is recognized internationally. According to a report, 47% of consumers and 82% of the respondents at the wholesale level have a positive image of the Moño Azul brand. Moño Azul is a leading brand with a recognized trajectory in countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Peru.

Moño Azul is present at Fruit Logistica Berlín, in Pavilion 25 Stand A-17h. 

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