The Fruit's sector Bureau of Contractualization set the minimum average price for apples and pears for the 2014/2015 season at US 32 cents.
The meeting of the Bureau, established by Law 3993/05, was attended by the Secretary of Pomology, Alberto Diomedi; the President of the Federation of Fruit Producers of Rio Negro and Neuquén, Jorge Figueroa, and the provincial legislators Ariel Rivero, Ruben Lopez, Bautista Mendioroz and Leonardo Ballester.
The Bureau set the price after hearing the technical reports about the comparable production and packaging costs for of pears and apples, which was presented by Hector Zubeldía, professional Secretary of Pomology, and Adalberto Santagni, from INTA Alto Valle, following the same methodology as in previous years.
Based on this information, the members of the Bureau decided to establish the minimum average price of pome fruit at US 32 cents (or its equivalent in pesos according to the Banco de la Nación Argentina on the day the contract is signed for the sale of the fruit).
This will be the price for all fruit received in scale, subject to negotiation and contract, under the Transparency Act No. 3611 for fruit operations.
The Bureau also agreed that fruit to be discarded should be sent by the buyer, at the request of the producer, to the industrial company that the latter sees fit, or, return it upon completing the classification process.
On the subject, the secretary of Pomology, Alberto Diomedi, said that, "this not only complies with provincial laws, but clearly illustrates, to every link in the production chain, which is the basis for negotiation of the most important economic activity in the province of Rio Negro."