Corrientes is an importing production region for greenhouse bell peppers, of which 40% in volume is contributed to the MCBA (Mercado Central de Buenos Aires). The good prices of last year positively influenced the production of this year. However, the bad weather circumstances of last February damaged production. This information is published in the newsletter: Boletín de Frutas y Hortalizas del Convenio INTA- CMCBA.
It’s mentioned that there has been greater planting in the beginning of this year, January and February. It seemed to be a year with bigger volumes of bell peppers, however a big storm on the 4th of February affected the horticultural zone of Corrientes with winds and rain. Over 90% of the horticultural farms were hit. Damage levels were estimated between 30% and 70%, an estimated 50% on average is mentioned. The total production exceeds 500 hectares including those affected by storms.
The season was delayed by hot weather in January and February. In the newsletter it is explained that the early plantings started harvesting red bell peppers in the beginning of April, which was 15 days after the start of green bell peppers. The warm weather caused some water stress, therefore some flowering was lost. There have been too many cloudy days in the months April, May, June and September. However, as temperatures have been rather mild in the winter time, no big losses have occurred.
Offer of bell pepper in the MCBA in 2016
The bell pepper supply in the central market of Buenos Aires in 2016 had been 6,7% percent less than in 2015, however it still summed up 24.748,6 tons. There are three main regions that cover 93% of the total amount of bell pepper supply in the MCBA, which are the provinces Salta, Corrientes and Buenos Aires. In percentages this means the Salta region covered 38,2% of the total supply, followed by Corrientes with 28,2% and Buenos Aires with 27.1%.
At the beginning of the year the supply was poor with very low prices. Then both the supply and the prices increased up to a certain point where prices kept rising, while the supply dropped. July is the month with the highest average price per kilogram of $ 42.4 for the lower supply of only 1,815 tons. After that the situation turned around on the MCBA. Supply increased again, so the prices stabilized and after a peak in October prices dropped even more in November and December.