Lowest volume of fruit exported from San Antonio Port in 25 years, Q1 2019

Fruit exports through the ports of San Antonio and Bahia Blanca from Argentina’s main fruit producing region, Patagonia’s Upper Valley, were somewhat slower in the first quarter of 2019; exports of apples and pears fell nearly 25% to 90,000 tons year-on-year. According to Fresh Plaza, 84,000 tons of fruit were exported through the port of San Antonio in the first three months of 2019, the lowest volume in the last 25 years. The poor performance is attributed to withholdings on fruit exports, as well as the delayed pear harvest that deferred timely shipments to Europe.

Data from Patagonia Norte port terminal, shows shipments of pears through the ports of San Antonia and Bahia Blanca amounted to 80,400 tons in the first quarter of the year, down 22% year-on-year, whereas apple exports fell 40% to 9,570 tons in the same period, year-on-year. The ports are responsible for 80% of the country’s total exportable fruits.

Fortunately, Brazilian officials have lifted a ban on the entry of Argentine pears, apples, and quinces to Brazil, imposed due to the discovery of Carpocapsa moths in the cargo earlier this year, according to DatamarNews.

Nevertheless, the second quarter defines Argentina’s fruit export performance as shown by the graph below:

Sharing is caring!