Argentine blueberry harvest begins with good expectations

Cranberry harvest begins in Argentina and producers in the Salto Grande region showed good expectations for the export harvest that begins in a few days.

“With the Chinese market, the possibility of an entire campaign showing our fruit is opened. It will be very difficult because of the tremendous tax burden we have, such as withholdings, the withdrawal of reimbursements, the gross income tax that impacts the entire chain, provincial and municipal taxes that impact on the electricity tariff and the no immediate availability of VAT to compensate immediately for the payment of other taxes. This impacts on the competitiveness that we lack and that generates uncertainty to know if we are going to be able to take advantage of the benefits of the markets that were opened and those that are still working and of the infrastructure improvements that were made these years, ”Alejandro explained Pannunzio, president of the Association of Cranberry Producers of Mesopotamia Argentina (APAMA) and vice president of the Argentine Committee of Cranberries (Abc).

As for the estimated production for this year, the producer said that the amount of hectares in production is similar to the previous campaign “with the expectation of being able to harvest all the production that is important”.

Incorporation of new markets

The opening of China and Thailand were milestones that the sector capitalized in the last year. Regarding advances in this regard, Pannunzio said that the sector hopes to reach free trade agreements to compete on equal terms with countries such as Chile and Peru, if they have them.

Internal Market Growth

“The internal market continues to develop, it is very important for our activity to have that growth, not only to locate a good part of our fruit, but also for the enormous health benefits generated by the consumption of blueberries. Fortunately, many prefer it for its flavor, many for its nutraceutical properties and basically all children love it, ”he said.

Source: Elonce