SOURCE: Infobae
TRANSLATION: Freshplaza
Panfilo Ayala, director of the Argentine Agrarian Federation and a reference for the Laguna Naineck subsidiary, stated that many banana producers in the province of Formosa, in northeastern Argentina, are quitting the activity because of its lack of profitability. “Lack of profitability is a long-standing problem. However, there has been an increase in the abandonment of plots dedicated to banana cultivation, which represents a serious social and economic problem for many towns in the interior of Formosa.”
In the 80s Formosa had about 6,000 hectares planted with bananas. Now, there are under 2,000 hectares, Ayala said. “This decrease took place because of the entry of imported bananas, which invaded our market, and are even sold in Formosa, from Ecuador, Brazil, and Paraguay,” he added. Those 2,000 hectares are the livelihood of some 640 families and another 4,500 indirect jobs if we include the production of Salta and Jujuy, where there are another 1,500 hectares in production.
“Importing is a big business for companies that sell bananas in the Argentine market. Local consumption stands at around 500,000 tons per year since it is the most consumed fruit. Imports displaced us because there are no regulations to formalize the entry of bananas that have lower costs than our products. We just can’t compete against them,” said Ayala.
According to Ayala, local production needs to regulate the purchases and income of bananas from abroad during Argentina’s harvest periods. “Today we’ll begin to market the 2021 banana crop. The harvest will start in 30 to 40 days and we are already facing price issues.”
The sector sent a letter to the provincial government of Gildo Insfran and to the Minister of Agriculture of the Nation, Luis Basterra, informing them about the critical situation of the Formosan producers and requesting institutional support for the banana sector. The letters were sent to the authorities last week but the sector hasn’t received any official response yet.
“The sector needs to sell its green bananas for $ 30 per kilo at the farms in order to be profitable. Last year it was paid for $ 7 to $ 8 per kilo. That’s why many producers quit growing bananas and start growing other fruits,” Ayala stressed.