Page Seven / La Paz
Producers insist on the scarcity of corn and its increase in price for the domestic market, while the Food Production Support Company (Emapa) offers 100 thousand tons to supply the market and demand.
The president of the Departmental Association of Pig Farmers of Santa Cruz (Adepor), Jorge Méndez, explained that the corn harvest in Santa Cruz is 50% advanced, but livestock producers are not.
He added that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has its effects on the country, because those countries were large producers of corn and wheat.
According to Méndez, the corn produced in the country goes to Peru and Brazil, where a quintal is sold for 120 bolivianos and at the border for 110 bolivianos, and in Santa Cruz between 102 and 104 bolivianos. “At this time last year, a quintal of corn in Santa Cruz was sold for 45 bolivianos and now for 104 bolivianos,” he pointed out.
The president of Adepor indicated that the corn harvest reaches 800 thousand tons per year, but the demand is 1.2 million tons. In Santa Cruz alone, the monthly consumption of poultry, egg, milk, beef and pork producers is 100 thousand tons.
“Our concern is that Argentina is about to sell its corn production to the international market and there will be neither contraband nor legal. With the corn meat, eggs, milk, chicken are produced and if that is missing there is no food security”, he warned.
The manager of Emapa, Franklin Flores, reported that the state company guarantees 100,000 tons of corn and that it will harvest 1,600 tons in the north of La Paz.
