Even though there still are no definitive figures, estimates are that last Monday's storm destroyed at least 20% of La Plata's horticultural production, some, however, believe that the damage could be worse.
The head of the Association of Horticultural Producers of La Plata, Alberto Pate, stated that half of the production that was affected was completely lost. "The winds swept away the greenhouse's wood and nylon, thus, the production inside the greenhouses was lost," said the leader.
El Pato, El Peligro, Villa Elisa and Colonia Urquiza comprise the area that was hit the hardest and that has the highest amount of affected greenhouses; their tomato, pepper and leafy vegetable productions were severely damaged. The area's flower production was also severely affected by the winds and rain on Monday's afternoon.
Although the losses haven't been fully quantified, producers know they will be in the millions: not only because of the production that was lost but also because of the facilities that were destroyed. "Constructing a new greenhouse costs about 400,000 pesos ($64,550 dollars) per hectare because of the wood, plastic, labour and everything that's inside of it," said Pate.
The region's Association of Horticultural Producers said that they were going to ask authorities to implement a line of soft loans to help them face the damage caused by the storm.
Source: Eldia.com.ar