Mario Requinta, the general manager of the Federation of Horticulturists and Fruit Growers of Santa Cruz (Fedehfrut), said the sector was concerned because of the entry of Peruvian tomato into the country, which is greatly harming domestic producers. "We ask authorities to carry out more checks at the borders. We are not sure that the tomato is entering the country legally. This is something that can cause great harm to producers. Additionally smuggled products don't pay taxes," he said.
Tomato prices decrease
Requinta said producers have had to struggle to sell their tomatoes at a fair price because the Peruvian tomato was being sold at half the price. As a result, producers are not being able to cover production costs. Additionally, producers have been affected by the weather. "It is very difficult for us to transport the product to the city. The roads are in poor condition. What's worse is that the Peruvian tomato is being sold for 2.5 to 3 bolivianos per kilo and our products for 5 bolivianos; it is unfair competition," he said. He also stated that there were 800 hectares devoted to this crop in the 11 municipalities of the Santa Cruz valleys.
Emergency meeting
In turn, Nelson Torrico, representative of the producers of the province of Florida, said producers would have an emergency meeting this week to find a way to have a rapprochement with the government, so that they find a solution to this issue.
Source: eju.tv
