Naomi Carmona
Morelia, Michoacán. – Despite the health crisis over the coronavirus pandemic, Michoacan authorities and the president of the National Association of Berries Exporters (Aneberries), José Luis Bustamante Fernández, ruled out an affectation of berries production, so the economy in that sector was not affected.
At a press conference to announce the tenth International Berries Congress, the president of Aneberries mentioned that, while there were effects on sale by the closure of hotels and restaurants, through supermarkets strawberries, raspberries, blueberry and blackberries were achieved, they will reach consumers, so at the end of the season a normal income was recorded.
“It did affect us by the closure of hotels and restaurants, however, through supermarkets and wholesale marketers we were able to reach consumers and continued to prefer Mexican berries. If we were affected especially in the month of April, but at the end of the season we had a normal closure.”
For his part, the head of the Secretariat for Rural development and agro-food, Rubén Medina Niño, detailed that the impact that the Covid pandemic was in two respects: on the international market and logistics at the border and ports to bring the Michoacano product to the northern countries.
“As for the impacts of Covid, on the productive side we have no impact as such, agri-food production is due to agricultural cycles, very defined cycles in the livestock issue, basically the impacts that were recorded by covid are in those two aspects, in logistical terms, on arrival at the border, on arrival at the ports, there were always delays for the reasons of certification , and on the market issue.”
Michoacán, is rated as the “cradle of berries”, having an area of 29 thousand hectares intended for cultivation, of the 40 thousand hectares that exist throughout the country.
