Two Rio Negro fruit packers have been forced to cut their workforce amid the ongoing crisis in the Argentine fruit industry.
Expofrut, Argentina’s biggest grower-exporter, has laid off 109 workers, while Salentein Fruits, has dismissed 45 workers. Both companies blamed the lack of profitability and rising production costs and lower production adverse climatic conditions for their decision.
Rodrigo Malaspina from Expofrut said the affected workers were from the company’s packhouse is Lamarque, in the department of Avellaneda. “The decision has been made due to there being less fruit available than in previous seasons,” he said.
The company said it would be carrying out a wide-scale restructuring at the facility and its remaining 340 workers over the coming years.
Salentein Fruits, which forms part of the Salentein Group, has been winding down its operations in the Valle Medio region of Rio Negro since selling its packhouse and hundreds of hectares of production in Guerrico to Kleppe 12 years ago.
