After two years of not being able to export blueberries to Israel due to health reasons, Argentina has finally reopened the Israeli market and made its first shipment of blueberries to that destination. The first shipment was sent to Tel Aviv by plane via Madrid. According to Alejandro Pannunzio, the president of the Association of Blueberry Producers of Argentina's Mesopotamia (APAMA) and vice president of the Argentine Blueberry Committee (ABC), the shipment consisted of 4 pallets of blueberries and was carried out by the Berries del Sol company from Colonia Ayui, in the province of Entre Rios.
Improving competitiveness
Blueberry producers have long been demanding measures to improve their competitiveness, starting with lowering their tax burden, which they say "blocks their competitiveness and creates uncertainty."
A few weeks ago, blueberry producers from all over the country participated in a regional technical conference that was held in the city of Concordia and was organized by APAMA. In the meeting, Alejandro Pannunzio stated that the area sown in the country had decreased from 4,700 to 2,700 hectares in the last 8 years, while the area devoted to this production worldwide increased by 100% in the same period. He also said that exports in the past 10 years should have gone from 1.5 million tons to 3 million, but that they had decreased to 850,000 tons in 2018.
According to Pannunzio, the sector's main challenge is the competition with Chile and Peru, which are growing in the face of an important world demand, especially Peru, which year by year is doubling its exports.
24/09/2019
