Fedefruta went to the Senate's Agriculture Committee to inform it about the damage fruit producers affected by the hailstorm in November had, and request financial and technical assistance to medium-sized producers, as they are the most vulnerable to these problems. The goal was to promote actions to help producers with their damaged orchards, and recover the hectares where future harvests were affected.
Fedefruta and the authorities at the meeting
"We estimate there were around 200 million dollars in losses," said the president of Fedefruta, Jorge Valenzuela, in a session that included the Minister of Agriculture, Antonio Walker, the Intendant of O'Higgins Juan Manuel Masferrer, the mayors of Codegua and Graneros (communes of the so-called red zone), and affected small farmers:
"We lost 100% of the current harvest in some places like Codegua and Graneros. However, what worries us the most is that the intensity and size of the hailstones also jeopardized the future crop. This stronger hail, which our fruit growing sector had never experienced, affected much wider sectors hitting the trees, branches, leaves, fruit and destroying our orchards' infrastructure."
The hailstorm took place on November 12, when the harvest was very susceptible to being damaged. "The hail caught the early cherries in full harvest, and other fruits, such as pears and apples, in the stage of thinning. In other words, it was the worst moment for a hailstorm," he said.
Real effects
When talking about the areas hit by the hailstorm, the president of Fedefruta made emphasis on the impact the storm had between Linares and Los Angeles. "There are reports about the damage the storm had on blueberry crops in that area. However, our associates there grow apple trees and have lost 60 to 80 percent of their production," he told the Senators. In addition, the storm also affected stone fruit, pear trees, and kiwis. "The damage is much bigger than what this Committee has been told," Valenzuela emphasized.
Jorge Valenzuela talking to the Senate's Agriculture Committee
The president of Fedefrua said that, globally, the effect on the fruit volume might not be significant, because other non-affected areas would enter the production this season. "However, we are concerned about the impact this had on the producers that were affected by the event, some of which lost one hundred percent of their hectares, and that's where this discussion must really focus on."
According to Valenzuela, many producers working with table grapes that were investing in expensive genetic programs to respond to the demands of the markets had big losses. "Some lost 90 percent of their investment, the vines fell, they have to recover them and next season will not be normal for them." The president of Fedefruta highlighted the Minister of Agriculture's plan to create a work table and help, with technical advisors, producers recover the affected orchards. "We have to intervene in technical terms, that's what we must focus on."
Help for medium-sized producers
"Fedefruta's biggest concern in this emergency is the medium producer," Valenzuela told the president of the Senate's Agriculture Committee, Carmen Gloria Aravena. "A fruit grower who has 20, 30, 50, or 60 hectares is tremendously unprotected against this problem. They are the ones that have credits from the bank and will have to go talk to them, explain their situation, negotiate with them. That's when things start to get complicated for producers."
The president of Fedefruta added: "I want the table to know that the medium-sized producer are the country's real exporting force, not the big producers. Mid-sized producers are the infantry of Chile's fruit production, and they are the most unprotected group when faced with these disasters. They must negotiate with the banking sector individually to try to get ahead." Valenzuela asked the Ministry of Agriculture to place more attention on this type of fruit grower, and to create more financing tools that help this segment.
"We have been talking with the banking sector to look for some mechanism, some credit through BancoEstado or the commercial banks themselves, to help mid-sized producers with softer credits or a longer paying period, as a fruit orchard can only start yielding fruits three to four years after its planted," said the trade union leader after the session. "We have a meeting with the Association of Banks (ABIF) to explain the situation. Nobody is asking for a favor; at the end its a business transaction. We are going to pay our debts and loans."