According to the president of APAMA, Alejandro Pannunzio, shipments to international markets this year were reduced by half compared to the 2021 campaign. Projections indicate that this year Argentina will export around 5 million kilos of blueberries when in previous years that data was located in an average of between 9 and 11 million.

"This year the weather conditions were very strange, we knew that exports would drop but not as much as it did," said Pannunzio

In the United States, exports fell even more, a shocking 70% less. "We were displaced due to the country's lack of competitiveness and structural issues in the world," he assessed.

“When Argentina produced 10 years ago, there were no competing countries, we were the only fruit, we were before Chile. But then other countries entered with volumes ten times more than us and Argentina could not sustain that advantage” he recounted.

The other countries that displaced Argentina in the window with the first fruit are Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Turkey and Colombia. “We are one of the furthest away in the market, Mexico is 40 hours by truck from the US, with better logistics,” he said.

This change in the international market, explained Pannunzio, was what mainly expelled the country from the levels of competitiveness. But also, he pointed out, "what hurts fruit growing is that there are two exchange rates, because half of our exports remain with the Central Bank."

Regarding the fall in the harvest, the producer warned that the impact is also felt in the labor force. "The kilos harvested are less and that is less people harvesting," he assured.

The slowdown in growth, according to Pannunzio, also led to outdated varieties implanted. "Not having been able to grow in the activity made us outdated from a genetic point of view, the varieties we have here are from 2013 and there is a lot of difference and our fruit is no longer competitive with the rest of the world," he explained.

"They don't answer the phone"

Pannunzio told as an example that when production began in Argentina, international markets came looking for the fruit and now "they don't answer the phone."

Regarding his relationship with the national authorities, he said that with the Secretary of Agriculture Juan José Bahillo they have an "excellent relationship" but that the measures that the sector needs "exceed it."

Pannunzio also outlined a self-criticism about the responsibilities of the sector in the current situation. "We couldn't see the future players, we didn't take advantage of the glory days, we relaxed and we didn't have the vision to take advantage of that advantage before other countries start planting."

"We did not increase our volumes at the time because no one thought that so much blueberry was going to be consumed in the world, consumption is excessive, but we did not have the commercial capacity to expand and the profitability remained with the receivers," he explained.

However, he also clarified that in the Domestic Market the growth in Argentina is notable and that this could be the majority destination of the fruit produced by the producers that survive the current crisis.