Alexander Botía, Secretary of Agriculture of Arauca, assured that 40 thousand hectares of banana are planted in the department and asked the protesters and the Government to lift the blockades.
This Tuesday, Alexander Botía, Arauca’s Secretary of Agriculture, warned that four thousand tons of bananas could be lost in the department, as they are dammed by the road blockades that have been generated in the framework of the national strike.
The strike and the pandemic have hit banana production in this area of the country. “Before the pandemic, Arauca produced 940 thousand tons of bananas annually. This last year, the levels of commercialization have been affected by a notable decrease in demand at the national level and with it the profitability of the fruit ”, mentioned Botía.
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The fruit’s ripening cycle is very short, as the official explained, “then we are going to have a very good number of affected growers, since they have not been able to take the loaded trucks to the squares, especially those of Bogotá and Bucaramanga. Daily losses exceed $ 360 million and the sector is at risk of losing close to $ 1,500 million from this strike, “he added
The official also mentioned that the departmental administration maintains communication with the Government about the blockades and difficulties that the banana-growing union is going through and with the Unemployment Committee so that humanitarian corridors are implemented that allow the loaded trucks to pass.
“All this situation is registered in the most important peak of banana production in Arauca. The growers can hardly bear the pressure on their fruit that is being cut in the fields and remains in the trucks. We trust that new humanitarian corridors will be achieved, such as the one that allowed fuel to enter Arauca, to partially overcome the supply crisis ”.
It is worth remembering that on May 11, the Union Council, which includes unions such as Acoplásticos, Analdex, Anato, Camacol, Confecámaras and Fedepalma, requested that progress be made in the spaces for dialogue with the strike committees, “but rejects categorically the blockades, acts of vandalism and violence that have been taking place in the national territory, which threaten the life, security, mobility, income and health of Colombians ”.
