Smuggled fruit and vegetable products are displacing the national tomato, potato and onion, which as a consequence suffered a reduction in prices.
According to the Agricultural Markets Information Service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, at the wholesale level the box of tomato cost an average of G. 86,667 yesterday, which represents a 21% drop in one week. In the case of onion and potato, their price fell 16.1% and 7.3%, respectively.
The representative of the Association of Importers and Traders of the Supply Market, Aldo Villarreal, explained that these behaviors are due, in the first case, to a greater national production that also coincided with smuggling, which caused that sellers who adjust to the law lose advantage in their positions. He estimates that the price difference between smuggled tomato and domestic tomato can be up to G. 20,000 per box, while in the case of potatoes and onions, the gap is approximately G. 10,000 per bag.
Villarreal claimed that there are no controls in the Supply, in the supermarkets and at the border to stop the illegal entry of fruit and vegetable products from Brazil and Argentina.
