In a meeting held in the commune of Máfil, Chile, and chaired by the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Mayol and the governor of the region of Los Rios, Juan Andrés Varas, the results of the 2012 Fruit Cadastre, elaborated by the Information Centre of Natural Resources (Ciren), with help from the Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies (Odepa), were announced.
The study showed a progressive increase in the fruit acreage of the region during the past six years, growing by 91.6% compared to 2006, when the total surface only reached 1,403 hectares.
As for the results, the Minister highlighted that "we rejoice, because it means that the region is developing in a positive manner, the land is being worked on, generating employment and improving the quality of life for its inhabitants."
Regarding the provinces, Valdivia saw an 87.7% increase compared to 2006, reaching 1,691 hectares. The species with the highest number of planted hectares correspond to blueberries (819 hectares), cranberries (465 hectares) and hazelnuts (214 hectares).
Meanwhile, the province of Ranco saw a 98.5% increase, currently reaching 96.2 hectares. Here the most relevant products are blueberries (700 hectares), raspberries (214 hectares) and hazelnuts (47 hectares).
Changes at regional level by species.
The Fruit Cadastre in the region of Los Rios shows that the species taking the largest surface are blueberries (1,519.1 hectares), rising by 147% in 6 years.
The other most relevant species in the region are cranberries (464.9 hectares), raspberries (275.2 hectares) and hazelnuts (260.9 hectares).
The Fruit Cadastre 2012 also covered the regions of La Araucanía (growing by 95.3%), El Biobío (growing by 75.7%) and Los Lagos (growing by 52.1%).
Source: Terra.com.co