50% of table grape vineyards are more than 20 years old, which corresponds to an obsolete production system that threatens costs, work quality and quantity of boxes per hectare, said the expert.
"57.53% of table grape area planted in Chile is not making profit or indeed making a loss, this is the worst for our industry. Probably it has changed a bit since last year up until now, because some producers may have started or changed to more productive varieties, however, having come to this situation without economic attractiveness is a drama and although it might have fallen (such percentage) at the time, between 10% and 20%, it remains a dramatic situation," expressed the Director of iQonsulting, Isabel Quiroz, during FEDEFRUTA´s Regional Gathereing held in Ovalle.
For the expert, this represents a complex dichotomy, since, "table grapes are the main species of our country, the most attractive and with which we are a world power in both production and export, we are in a serious situation that can not be sustained over time, because no business can continue not making profit or sustaining a loss," he said.
However, he warns that 16.09% of the area in the country earns an operational result of more than USD 7,000 per acre return. "Probably, some will tell us that it isn't an attractive figure, but it is a result that implies everything is paid for and allows somehow, to look at the season with a different view and also
within that percentage, there are some producers who are above the USD 7,000 per hectare, and therefore, they are doing good business."
Then the question is, is it the table grape business?
For the expert, yes. In fact, she argues that "there are producers who are doing very well, generating resources," but says, "their business model had to make many adjustments to get over USD 7,000 per hectare and if we know that our fruit is prized, coveted, needed and valued, we can not let this business to continue undermining the possibility of making it big and sustainable over time," she said.
To learn more about this presentation visit:
http://www.fedefruta.cl/regionales2012/Ovalle/charlas/Quiroz.pdf
Source: Fedefruta