Argentina: Soft fruit cannot compete with Chilean imports
Local SMEs are unable to compete with the products from Chile, as they enter the country at a lower cost and have the same quality as the Argentinean product, stated provincial officials.
"Many confectioners are buying container directly from Chile because they are 20% cheaper than what we offer," said Carlos Rey, secretary of government of El Hoyo.
The activity is very important and a hallmark for the towns of the region of parallel 42, where the main acreage is dedicated to raspberries, strawberries, currants, cherries, blackberries, boysenberries, currants, cassis, blueberries, wild rosehip, elderberry, and maqui.
In recent months demand from local candy stores and the domestic market fell.
Rey spoke about the impact of the high maintenance costs of the fruit in cold storage and warned about the need of selling the production before the next harvest season.
"We are evaluating different proposals: subsidizing part of the per kilo price of fruit to match prices; reducing taxes for growers, or buying sweets for schools and canteens," the official said.
He insisted that "trade liberalization is seriously affecting rural producers from Chubut."
The fruit produced in the Andean Region is destined for industrialization, no surplus or discarded fruit is used for production and all products are made without additives or chemical preservatives.
They produce sweets, jams, jellies, marmalades, berry preserves, liquors, spirits, and sweet and sour sauces.
The region has about 220 hectares, which have needed an investment of around 77 million pesos and 154 million in fixed structures production, and produce more than 1.3 tons a year.
El Bolson has 40 hectares allocated to different fruit species, 18 of which are certified organic farming and the rest are of conventional farming or uncertified organic production.
Another 24 hectares, 60% of the planted fine fruit, correspond to raspberry crops, while cherry is the second crop in surface area, with 5.5 hectares and 6% of the total area of El Bolson.
The organic surface is owned by two producers in the Camino de los Nogales and the rest is divided in about 30 producers, from El Manso to El Bolson.
"There were some exports and we have placed certified organic frozen fruit individually this year," said Eduardo Martinez, of the Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Rio Negro.
According to the official, "the situation seemed to improve after the devaluation, but the value of the dollar offered is not profitable for producers. For now only one operator acts as a marketer of organic fruit to the United States," he said.
Jorge Levy, regional delegate of Rio Negro's agricultural portfolio, said that "the region's planted area was about 1% of the size of the planted area in Chile."
"Our production fails to meet the domestic market's demand, so, any advantage in the exchange rate or restriction on the import of fruit would allow the sector to continue developing without problems," concluded Levy.
Source: Telam