Germán Palacio, manager of Fedepapa, said that the sector faces one of the most critical moments in recent years as a result of the “drastic drop in consumption.”
The manager of the Colombian Federation of Potato Producers, Germán Palacio, spoke this morning with Econoticias about the difficult situation facing the sector as a result of the devaluation of the product, and of the agreements established with the National Government in order to guarantee welfare farmers economic.
“We are going through a drastic drop in consumption, caused largely by the pandemic,” said Palacio, adding that the closure of hotels, restaurants and coffee shops also played against producers since it is one of the channels most important for marketing.
In the same way, he stated that only those sectors represent 30% of the sale of potatoes in the whole country, this is how in recent months there has been a superlative drop in the price affecting the nearly 100,000 families that generate their livelihood of this activity with a production close to 2 million 650 thousand tons per year.
“It is the second most important product in the food chain after rice, but it is the one that generates the most employment and the most important in cold weather. Around 20 million wages are generated per year, there are 360 thousand families that depend directly or indirectly from the cultivation, “said the manager of Fedepapa.
Regarding imports, Germán Palacio said that “what European companies are looking for is to end the national industry,” and warned that in Chile, by buying from outsiders, they ‘extinguished’ local producers.
