Argentina’s Mendoza area has started the garlic harvesting with a 50% increase in prices expected due to rains in the Northern Hemisphere that caused lower production for large producers in Spain and China. According to Mariano Ruggeri, the owner of Mendoza Exports, a garlic producer and exporter from Argentina, “On garlic prices we could be 50% higher than last year due to the rains in the northern hemisphere growing countries.”
Mariano Ruggeri with his son Franco at the recently held 2023 IFPA Global Produce and Flower show in Anaheim.
Mendoza Exports supplies garlic to the Brazilian, European and US markets. “Our season started last week, it finishes in the middle of December. We expect to harvest 20% less than last year, because the area planted is 20% less. Last season we harvested 20% more than the average. This year we will see a return to the same volume of the past eight years. Argentina grows around 16,000 hectares of garlic. The yield looks fine at the moment, we just need to wait to see how the curing process will be after the harvest, which will determine the quality.”
Worldwide garlic markets
“We see the markets are very demanding, there’s high demand everywhere. This is because the Spanish garlic crop was affected by rains, while the China crop was also affected. So the next supplying country is Argentina, it is our turn now. The curing process of garlic is about 12-15 days after harvest, we need to have a good climate after harvest for this process,” states Ruggeri.
He says the El Niño weather pattern is not a factor. “Growers reduced the planted area due to lower market prices last season. The climate was very good for us during the production cycle.”
Commenting on how they are surviving the effects of inflation and other challenges in Argentina, Ruggeri says: “Our macro economy is affected, it is not good. But the companies in our country are helping. Our people are able to work so nothing affects us as exporters. We have been working very well and we will keep working very well. We expect big changes because we had the first round of elections and after that we hope our country improves the macro economic situation. Mendoza is one of the best places where you can grow garlic around the world. Mother nature is with us, we have been producing high quality and we will continue to produce high quality irrespective of what happens with the government,” concludes Ruggeri.
For more information:
Mariano Ruggeri
Mendoza Exports
Tel: +54 261 4821883
Email: americangarlic@americangarlic.com.ar
www.mendozaexports.com