The president of Asoex, Ronald Bown, has warned that grower returns could be adversely affected by the exchange rate this season if the currency situation doesn’t improve in the coming months.
Bown put the drop in the exchange rate since August 2017 down to three factors: the fall of the dollar, the high price of copper and an excessively optimistic economic outlook.
“Currently, the exchange rate is a little below the value that allows for normal profitability in the fruit industry,” he said.
“However the season is just beginning and much remains to know how it will go. Firstly, because the returns for the fruit arrive after the shipments have been made and also because the final price of the fruit is not yet known.”
Bown said he was hopeful that the excessive optimism would dissipate during the course of the year and the dollar would return to more normal levels by the end of the first quarter.
