The national tomato production currently covers 60% to 70% of local consumption, according to reports from the Commercialization Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. The rest of the offer would be of contraband tomatoes.
In addition, the suspension of the issuance of Afidi (Phytosanitary Import Authorization) has led to a massive offer of contraband tomatoes in the country's shopping centers.
"We estimate that we'll have a bigger offer in mid-May. Now, production is starting to rise, "said Engineer Ruben Medina, from the MAG.
According to Medina, the national production currently only covers 60 to 70% of local demand. "We think that the rest of the tomatoes offered in the market are of foreign production."
Most of the tomatoes that are smuggled into Paraguay come from Argentina, where there is currently an over-production.
Some importers expressed their surprise that the control agencies (Detave, Senave, Economic Crimes of the National Police, National Navy) hadn't seized any smuggled tomatoes in the past few days, as they are being smuggled through different border posts, violating government controls.
Source: abc.com.py