Growing table grapes is a viable alternative to tobacco and yerba mate for small farmers in the Misiones province of Argentina, the country’s agricultural research agency INTA said on its website.

“Burley tobacco has an uncertain future ... and income that it generates for small growers has been deteriorating,” Alejandro Piekun, a fruit specialist at INTA, is quoted as saying. “On the other hand, yerba mate, like all industrial crops, is only profitable in large-scale production.”

Piekun said that grapes can generate more yield and profit with lower production costs for small growers.

“With a hectare of grapes, the grower can earn more money than with 20 hectares of yerba mate,” he is quoted as saying.

Grapes fetch between US $6 and $10 per kilogram, he said, according to the website. Of all production in the province, 600 metric tons will go to fresh consumption and 200 metric tons will go to juice and wine, the website said. There are about 300 growers with 120 hectares of grape land, according to the website.

Photo: www.inta.gov.ar

Source: www.freshfruitportal.com