Images of a truck dumping eight tons of tangerines went viral on social media. The video was released by producer Elvio Calgaro, who is also a leader of the Entre Ríos Agrarian Federation. The producer attributes the waste of fruit to people’s lack of purchasing power.
This Friday, outrage spread across social networks accompanied by videos of a truck that dumped 8,000 kilos of tangerines in the Villa del Rosario dumpin it North of Entre Rioswhere mountains of this fruit have already accumulated due to the great lack of consumer demand.
The video was released by the producer Elvio Calgarowho is also a leader of the Agrarian Federation and former president of the Federation of Citrus Growers of Entre Ríos, who stressed that the fruit is perishable and, like the tomato, “its time comes and if you don’t consume it, it begins to rot, so it doesn’t reach the market, you can’t send it.”
This area reaches the highest percentage of production per kilo in the province of Entre Ríos and one of the highest in the country, With approximately 150 million kilos produced by some 400 producers on some 5,000 hectaresAccording to the producer, 70% of this production is distributed for fresh consumption, 20% for the industry and only 10% for export.
“We were doing well and the offers were following the demand in the last two or three years, due to the drought there was a balance. But The rains arrived, accompanied by the economic recession. People’s purchasing power plummeted, that’s what we noticed, and therefore there is a little more fruit but less consumption“, he added.
A declining market
Calgaro clarified that this event occurs in a context where producers cannot cover their costs either, since the farmer receives between $40 and $50 per kilo when they should be paid at least seven or eight times that amount. “It is a disgrace; we receive one candy per kilo of fruit. With that production costs are not covered, for it to yield, it would have to be around 500 to 600 pesos per kilo to cover costswithout still thinking about profitability,” he explained.
In this context, he also highlighted that producers in the area are noticing “a serious problem in consumption”, which does not have the driving force of other years, “because if today they pay you 150 pesos per kilo, the numbers are no longer adding up for the factory at 150 either.”
In addition, he highlighted the increase in basic consumption such as water, electricity and fuel: “In front you have a liter of diesel that costs 1300 pesos inside. How many kilos of tangerines do you need to buy a liter of diesel? We are complicated, because all the costs are added up. We started like this, we are afraid that this will happen to another production, to another variety, that it will last over time,” concluded the producer.
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