At the 3rd national fruit and vegetable congress in Argentina last week, the trade association's leader Jorge Amigo said that earnings from fresh produce exports have now overtaken those from more traditional sectors such as meat and dairy. 'Devaluation has achieved in the fruit and vegetable sector what it has not managed in other sectors of the national economy: an increase in exports and in employment,' Amigo told delegates at the meeting.
Total Argentinean exports were six per cent down for the first five months of the year compared to the same period in 2001. However, exports of fruit across all the major lines – pears, apples and citrus – were in double figures.
Nevertheless, Amigo said that the difficult financial and economic conditions in Argentina mean that there are still no lines of credit, whether internal or external, are open to producers. He warned that without these, exporters would find it extremely difficult to reinvest in their businesses and keep their products up to the standards required for export.
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