Cranberry harvest begins in Concordia and there are good expectations

The producers highlighted the opening of new international markets as a positive factor for this 2019. However, concerns remain about the tax burden that blocks competitiveness and creates uncertainty.

07/08/2019

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 doing an entire campaign showing our fruit opens up. It is going to be very difficult due to the tremendous tax burden we have, such as withholdings, lower refunds, the gross income tax that impacts the entire chain, provincial and municipal taxes that impact the electricity rate and the non-immediate availability of VAT to immediately compensate for the payment of other taxes. This impacts the competitiveness that we lack and that generates uncertainty as to whether we will be able to take advantage of the benefits of the markets that have opened and on which work continues and the infrastructure improvements that have been made in recent years," explained Alejandro. Pannunzio, president of the Association of Blueberry Producers of Argentine Mesopotamia (APAMA) and vice president of the Argentine Blueberry Committee (Abc).

Regarding the estimated production for this year, the producer announced that the number of hectares in production is similar to the previous campaign "with the expectation of being able to harvest all the production that seems 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 domestic market continues to develop, it is very important for our activity to have this growth, not only to locate a good part of our fruit, but also because of 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

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