Alejandro Pannunzio is the president of the Mesopotamian Blueberry Producers Association (APAMA) and an unavoidable reference to talk about the sector. At the end of the harvest and export campaign 21/22, we contacted him to find out the results and the state of the situation of this fruit, which is in great global demand, which, however, is far from showing all the potential that it promised at the beginning of the century.

Without mincing words and with clear demands on national politics, Pannunzio reviews the main obstacles presented by the activity, the outlook regarding competitors in the southern hemisphere and the limitations of the domestic market as a real alternative for the profitability of fruit growers. Then the dialogue.

How was the Argentine performance in the export of blueberries this campaign?

Exports were 8.500 tons of fresh fruit. In 2020 it had been 10.500 tons. In other words, there is again a decrease in the volume of shipments. At some point, Argentina knew it was close to 20.000 tons.

And what happened?

The great determining factor are the internal restrictions resulting from the policies towards the sector. For every dollar that we enter the country, half remains in the Central Bank. There was also a very important increase in the value of inputs in dollars. On the other hand, inflation was 50% and the official dollar increased 22%. Let's add the VAT refund, which is returned after one year and with its value in pesos, so we recover less than 40% of that tax, while in other competing countries it is returned between a week and 15 days after the export. . All those numbers make surviving the campaign literally a miracle.

This lack of competitiveness collides with the good times experienced by other exporting countries in the region, such as Chile and Peru.

Yes. Another limitation that we have is that we cannot go to China because we have a 15% tariff.. Peru and Chile have zero. So, if apart from receiving half the value of the dollar, in some mass consumption countries like China we have to pay that tariff, it is very difficult to compete. For this reason, once the campaign is over, the list of producers who leave the activity is enlarged. They can't hold it anymore.

So, in productive terms, did the harvest volumes remain similar to previous years and what fell was exports?

There was also less volume because the surface was smaller. Every year it is decreasing.

In other fruit items, either for import (banana case) or export (cherry case) problems appeared due to the lack of containers for shipments by ship. In the case of blueberries, shipments are made both by sea and by plane. How was the logistics of this campaign?

It was complicated. There were shipments that we could not do due to lack of space on the planes, due to the fact that due to the pandemic there are fewer flights. And in the maritime shipments there were delays that in some cases meant losses for the producers. This is a very perishable fruit. Due to the lower commercial flow from Argentina compared to other countries, there are fewer containers available so that we can get on those ships. That is why we have to go out to Chile with our fruit. Although it is more expensive.

How is that?

Instead of traveling 400 kilometers from Concordia and loading at the port of Buenos Aires, we have to go to Santa Fe, then to Río Cuarto, Mendoza, cross the mountain range and arrive in Chile and then board a ship. In total time, adding the maritime traffic plus the truck to the Chilean port, it is shorter to go through Chile than through Buenos Aires. But it is more expensive and that also takes away our competitiveness. The maritime shipping that would have to cost us 5 or 6 thousand dollars, for all that return it costs us 14 thousand dollars.

For some years they have been doing a lot of work to change logistics and send more and more fruit by ship, due to its lower costs. Regardless of the complications you mentioned, have they made progress in that transition?

Yes. Compared to previous years, our share of ocean shipments continued to grow. Look, we have distant destinations such as Israel or the countries of Southeast Asia that we do not reach by boat, so we go by air. But our two main markets are Europe and the United States; Due to a question of costs, it is necessary to supply them yes or yes by ship, air freight ends up eating up profitability. Air logistics is more expensive in general. Ezeiza is expensive. I tell you more: it seems that fruit to the United States will never pay the cost of an air shipment again. Either it goes by sea or it is not profitable, regardless of a shipment in a particular week or a one-time shipment. The price of the fruit dropped a lot worldwide.

Is the growth of Peru and Chile a concern in the sector? Or is the fact that Argentina runs comfortably from behind is already assimilated?

In some global statistics, the Argentine offer is difficult to find, to put it in a pleasant way for us. To give you an idea: Peru exported 200 million kilos, Argentina 8. 7 or 8 years ago, Argentina exported 20 million and Peru did not exist. Some time ago, South Africa did not exist and today it exports 30 million kilos. Chile exports 140 million kilos. Our fruit has not moved the needle in the market in any week of the year, for years.

Personally, do you think Argentina can return to the fore or regain prominence at some point?

Yes, but we need an appropriate collective bargaining agreement, shorten the VAT refund, have a single tax account that compensates national tax credits and debits, solve the exchange problem to facilitate the purchase of inputs. There are many restrictions to solve. In Argentina there are agrochemicals that cannot be used and in competing countries, for example. But the potential is. Argentina has the agroclimatic capacity to do so. We have water in quantity and quality! Mexico is another very important player that grew enormously and displaced us from the United States market. In the last congress we organized in Apama, a Mexican colleague told us that in some areas of his country they could no longer expand due to lack of water. And we have phenomenal freshwater water resources! But we need policies that do not go against the sector. Let them be neutral. And if they are in favor, much better.

And the domestic market? Is it a viable alternative, from a commercial point of view?

Due to the logistics problems that I mentioned, much more fruit was sent to the domestic market. Nowadays it is an option that is present during several months of the year and our great allies are children, since it is easy to consume. The problem we have to be competitive here is that taxes kill us. The domestic market price is great for consumers, because it is low, but it does not cover production costs. We are making a great effort to develop and sustain it, but today, it does not pay for the investment.

How much should a box of blueberries cost for the domestic market to be a profitable business for growers?

It is that in reality the problem is the purchasing power of the people, which is decreasing. We all earn a little less every day. We want to continue working as much as we can on the domestic market. An Argentine consumer has to dispose of the fruit. The blueberry likes. But we cannot ask the consumer to spend the income they do not have on blueberries. Not to mention that there is a large percentage of the population living in poverty. What has to improve is the economic situation of the country and from the regional economies with adequate policies we can contribute a lot by generating tens of thousands of jobs.

To close, do you have new commercial agreements in mind for the next campaign?

Last year we organized a virtual business round in a joint effort with the Foreign Ministry, which was fantastic. We had dialogues with buyers from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia. A very nice job that worked very well and established business relationships, which we hope to deepen in the coming months.