Attorney Marcelo Loyarte, CAFI manager, said "The fruit sector's situation has not changed, several weeks ago the bureaucratic situation with Brazil was unlocked, we are working to see if the licenses for apples can be eliminated but that situation changed. There is a great amount of effort being made to cope, which seems to look like a good amount of fruit for the season."
Loyarte said, "our focus must be to see how we can get financing to reach the
next season, according to statistics, we exported 80,000 tons less pears and 70,000 tons less of apples and that represents a decrease of about USD 130 million less income. To have a crop such as is expected, additional resources are going to be needed because we will have less income and more fruit. Credits with reasonable rates will be needed to be able to do all the work that lies ahead. If one thinks about the work that is to come, between now and April, we are talking about USD 800 million that the Valley requires to harvest and process the fruit, the challenge is to good financing with a reasonable rate as soon as possible.
Loyarte added, "achieving reasonable rates is complicated, the government is working on a line for working capital with a special rate through the ministry of industry and although there are credit lines today those are aimed at investment.
"The domestic market is an alternative that some companies have been working on and CAFI, has been promoting it for some time, there is market research to develop and it has a very interesting potential. We have a consumption per capita that can grow, there is a good chance, and that market is behaving very well and is a complement of the external market which is critical, for different times of the year."
Regarding costs Loyarte concluded, "The cost issue is a major issue, with rises in
costs of 10% or 11%, (in dollars, in the case of packing in the last season) and its growth is worrying, the course is to regain competitiveness from the difference between the increase in cost and prices and return in pesos for the sector."
Source: Agrovalle