Tomato producers in northern Argentina have stated that Paraguay is hindering the entry of their products into that market by not granting them the necessary sanitary permits. Something similar happened to the onions and potatoes, they said.
The subsidiary of the Argentine Agrarian Federation (FAA) in the town of Laguna Naineck, in the northern province of Formosa (border with Paraguay) said that the obstacles, which were imposed months ago, affect about 240 families of small producers of tomatoes in the area.
Faced with this situation, the agricultural entity has asked the Argentine Government to complain to Paraguay so that it complies with the Mercosur free trade agreements (a bloc composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay).
"We insist, the national government must take the necessary steps with the Paraguayan government because they are violating basic principles regarding free trade among the Mercosur countries," said Panfilo Ayala, a leader of the FAA from Naineck Lagoon
Producers protested last week at the San Ignacio de Loyola border crossing, which links the Argentine city of Clorinda with the Paraguayan city of Puerto Falcon.
Ayala said that Paraguay hadn't issued any phytosanitary permits for the entry or Argentinian tomatoes into that market since April, and that something similar was happening to potato and onion shipments.
In addition to these problems, tomato producers in Formosa complain that they are being paid very low prices for their crops locally.
"It is a desperate situation, we have already lost more than 3.5 million kilos of product in the farms to date. We do not rule out taking other measures to defend our production," Ayala stated.
Source: EFE