Argentina: Cranberry cultivation generates 10.000 jobs in Concordia
The town of Concordia, in the province of Entre Ríos, will host the International Blueberry Congress in September next because it has more than 1.000 hectares dedicated to this crop, which represents 38% of the total area of the country, and generates 10.000 jobs in this activity.
«We have more than 1.000 hectares that give more than 10.000 jobs"said the mayor of Concordia, Enrique Cresto, who maintained that"It is important to hold this Congress in our city, because it will allow the sector to continue growing, and that will result in more opportunities for the city«.
The 95% of the national production of blueberries is destined to exports and the main consumer is the United States 66%, followed by the United Kingdom 18%, France 9%, while the 5% is offered to the domestic market, percentage that is distributes in an 3% to the food industry and an 2% to the fresh fruits.
According to a report by the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) in the last decade, the area implanted throughout the country was sixfold, during which time it went from 400 to 2.600 hectares.
This transformation had a significant impact on regional economies, particularly in the generation of directly or indirectly qualified employment along the chain.
The harvest of the production is done entirely by hand and generates 2,5 permanent jobs every 10 hectares of crop.
In the 2014, Argentina exported more than 16.000 tons of blueberries, surpassing the maximum level reached in 2011, of 15.800 tons.
The International Blueberry Congress will bring together producers and entrepreneurs in the sector of more than 27 countries and will take place in La Concordia next September.
The event was presented by the mayor Cresto; next to the president of the Argentine Committee of Blueberries, Carlos Stabile, and the holder of the Association of Producers of Blueberries of the Mesopotamia Argentina (Apama), Omar Chiarello.
The communal chief said that "When this activity began to proliferate, I presented a project to declare the department and the town of La Criolla 'National Capital of Blueberry', and today the blueberry sector is growing, with high demand«.
For his part, Chiarello thanked the local authorities for their support, which "they were available from the start, collaborating and encouraging«, and stressed that Congress «it's for the whole city«.
In turn, Stabile considered that Concordia «is up to the circumstances for an event of these characteristics«.
The Congress will take place in Concordia and in the Uruguayan city of Salto, presenting the Concordia-Salto microregion, during the 20, 21 and 22 days of September.
The congress is held every year in different parts of the world and gathers blueberry producers from countries such as the United States, England, Mexico, Spain, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina, among others, who debate and analyze new technologies and productive varieties of the sector, characteristics of the market, the role of supermarkets and consumer trends.
The international event - called the IBO Summit - is organized by the producing and exporting countries of blueberries nucleated within the International Blueberry Organization.
In addition to the city of Entre Ríos, the cranberry is produced in other provinces belonging to the Argentine center, such as Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Santa Fe, a large proportion of the production corresponds to the provinces of the Argentine Northwest (NOA), Tucumán and Salta, while that Chubut and Río Negro contribute a smaller amount.
The blueberry is called "the super fruit» due to its nutritional value, being among the main foods with antioxidant qualities.
The pigment that gives the fruit its blue color (the anthocyanin) affects the human cellular metabolism by decreasing the action of free radicals, associated with aging, cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's.
Other studies have proven that it has high amounts of «quercetin«, a compound that some fruits have that can reduce the risk of breast, prostate and colon cancer.
In the pharmaceutical industry they use it as a component of antibiotics and drugs to fight diabetes, in addition to the pathologies of vision.
Its proven health benefits also give it anti-inflammatory effects.
Free of fat, sodium and cholesterol, with astringent and diuretic properties, the «21st century fruit» It is used in the form of juices or infusions to prevent urinary infections.
Source: Telam.com.ar
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