Previous Story
Prices and pests, a lethal combination
Posted On 19 Mar 2016
The price of palm oil, say producers, does not cover costs. After the harvest, corn is paid up to $ 9 per hundredweight, according to Fenamaiz, pests attack the cocoa pods
The boom of oil palm was so relevant in the coast, that was surpassed only by cocoa among permanent crops. Today it lives dark days.
The last official survey (2014) reveals that 387,799 hectares are planted in the country with a substantial impact on the economy of the population of Esmeraldas and Los Rios. That growth has stopped due to a price drop in the market: the value of a ton of fruit stands up to $ 90.
In some areas, plantations of cacao CCN-51 are severely affected by pests. “It is assumed that the plants are resistant to witches’ broom and Monilla pests, but in this area we have serious problems by the attack of these plagues,” says Romulo Alcivar, producer of La Troncal, Canar, where there are large producers of plants for sale (nurserymen).
Corn farmers of Los Rios also have problems. This time not only pests are reducing production, prices have also fallen. “Up to $ 9 wet and dirty,” says the National Association of Agroindustrial Corn growers. Others speak of $ 7.(I)
Source: http://expreso.ec/economia/precios-y-plagas-combinacion-letal-YX167054
