Argentina exported some 1.49m tonnes of fresh fruit worth US$1.2bn and 596,544 tonnes of fresh vegetables worth US$455m in the 11 months ended November 2008, according to figures just released by Senasa, Argentina’s agriculture and food certification and quality agency.
The fruit results represent a 2 per cent dip in volume and a 35 per cent increase in value terms in comparison to the same period of 2007 when the country’s fruit exports reached 1.53m tonnes worth US$894m. The figures for vegetables (mainly garlic and onions) also indicate a 7 per cent volume decrease and a 37 per cent growth in value.
Of the fruit total, topfruit accounted for 696,994 tonnes (or US$493m) – a fall of 5 per cent in volume and an increase of 18 per cent in value compared with the January to November period of 2007.
Within the category, apple exports fell by 16 per cent in volume but rose by 11 per cent in value, accounting for 233,978 tonnes or US$168m. Conversely, pear shipments grew by 22 per cent in value and by 2 per cent in volume to reach 462,852 tonnes and US$325m.
The key markets for Argentinean apples included Russia, Brazil, the Netherlands, Algeria, Belgium, Spain and Sweden, while the bulk of pears were shipped to Brazil, Russia, Italy, the US, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, among other destinations.
In other fruit categories, citrus shipments rose by 1 per cent to 683,131 tonnes and by 68 per cent in value to US$527m. Lemons accounted for the bulk of volumes reaching 406,265 tonnes (an increase of 13 per cent compared with the year-earlier period), worth some US$161m tonnes – a growth of 124 per cent.
Table grape exports, meanwhile, reached 63,070 tonnes, worth US$75m, during the January-November period of 2008.
