New market openings helped one Argentine pomegranate exporter to double its year-on-year shipments for the ending season, although currency issues in Russia meant that market was off the cards. 

Taking stock of the campaign, a representative of Granadas Argentinas described the last few months as 'extremely positive', thanks largely to the opening of the U.K. and U.S. markets.

The company, which is a subsidiary of the group Estancia La Paz S.A., has 250 hectares of production land in the country's central Córdoba province.

"We have exported some 120,000 boxes of fresh fruit and 12 containers of fruit for processing," Granadas Argentinas director Marcelo Scarafía told www.freshfruitportal.com.

"About 30,000 4kg-equivalent boxes were shipped for local consumption, so around 120 metric tons (MT) in total."

Although the harvest season kicked off with a few weeks of rainfall, the company head said the campaign had gone very well in comparison to the last one, which saw frosts hit production.

Perhaps the overriding negative point of the season for Granadas Argentinas was the low prices in Europe - the entity's most important market - due to the euro's weakening against the U.S. dollar.

As well as the recently opened U.K. market, fruit was shipped to other European destinations including Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

"We were not able to complete the business that we had agreed with Russia, due to the ruble's devaluation, but we hope to do some next year," Scarafía said.

"We also managed to open the Singapore market and basically the U.S. as well, but there we have a rather complicated export protocol because we have to arrive in the country above the 38th parallel, implying higher shipping costs.

"Argentine institutions are also in talks with the Americans to lift the protocol whereby fruit must travel with cold treatment."

Photo: Granadas Argentinas

www.freshfruitportal.com