The smuggling of Colombian potatoes to Venezuela is not new, but concern is growing among producers and associations in the field, since the competition is considered “unfair.” In addition, we must add the health risks.
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Every day, according to the Confederation of Associations of Agricultural Producers of Venezuela (Fedeagro), around 20,000 kilos of Colombian potatoes enter that country through the border trails, either in the form of seeds or the item itself. Many arrive contaminated with what is known as “the black wart”.
This “disease” in the potato is literally a wart that expands, generating losses and adding more calamities to Venezuelan producers.
“Many producers fell into this contraband that by not having their proper phytosanitary permits there is no customs control and we have suffered from the disease,” Celso Fantinel, president of Fedeagro, told EL TIEMPO.
Many producers fell into this smuggling that by not having their proper phytosanitary permits there is no customs control and we have suffered from the disease.
Fantinel adds that “this type of wart is now damaging the soil” and this because “Things are done badly with agreements that are signed very lightly.”
For Fedeagro, it is not just about setting taxes and tariffs, but paying attention to health “because we are talking about vegetables, perishable tubers and that transmit diseases to our soils, the greatest asset that the farmer has,” he emphasizes.
Contraband and costs
Taking potatoes from Colombia to Venezuela is “profitable”. According to Fedeagro studies, the Colombian potato has a production cost 30 percent lower than the Venezuelan one.
In terms of production, it is more or less the same, from 20,000 to 22,000 kilos per hectare, but since consumption seems to have fallen in Colombia, before losing, producers prefer to sell it in the neighboring country.
To illustrate in numbers, the market is like this: producing Colombian seed potatoes can cost $25 per 50-kilo bag, even up to 20, while the Venezuelan one has a value of $35. The difference is that it is washed potatoes and that is why the price is higher. The unwashed one is located at 28 dollars.
“There is talk that about 10,000, 20,000 and up to 30,000 kilos per week enter,” says Fantinel, who alleges that, in addition, the drop in consumption and the decline in the real purchasing power of Venezuelans are combined.
Carrots, tomatoes, onions and fruits from other countries such as Chile and Peru also enter illegally across the border. “They enter through Colombia, and that affects national production,” emphasizes Fantinel.
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For example, a 50-kilo sack of contraband carrots can cost about 5 or 6 dollars, which represents a loss for Venezuelan producers.
Given this, the National Confederation of Potato Producers (Confepapa) has been demanding since last year that the smuggling of the product from Colombia be stopped, since the price in markets is not competitive.
“The producer here has a hard time getting potatoes for 18 to 20 dollars and they go to the market and find Colombian potatoes for $12,” the organization recently claimed.
In addition, the Venezuelan producer faces problems of shortages, fuel, electricity, water services, and the confiscation of merchandise at alcabalas. “They take two sacks for every five alcabalas (tax). A small producer loses 10 sacks,” lamented Confepapa.
Potato production carries its complexity. Confepapa explains that This one has four cures, three types of poison are used to avoid diseases. The poisons are ramosol, triposol and abertanol, so costs increase and it is impossible to compete with smuggled potatoes.
Faced with this reality, producers and associations hope that the agreements signed between the governments of Presidents Gustavo Petro and Nicolás Maduro go further and try to stop irregular entries and be more demanding in terms of sanitary permits.
ANA MARIA RODRIGUEZ BRAZON
WEATHER CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
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