Ecobreves – CHILE: Heavy Rains Threaten Vegetable Crops

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SANTIAGO, Feb 24 2007 (IPS) - The intense and unexpected rainfall over central Chile in mid-February will affect the production of various fresh vegetables, mostly onions for export, the Chilean vegetable producers association, Hortach, announced. The rains came in the middle of the southern hemisphere summer, associated with El Niño phenomenon, and will delay harvest, reduce product availability and drive up prices.

“The vegetables for export are the ones that suffered the most significant damage, because the rains near harvest time, plus the heat in the days following, induce the 'hidden vices' or diseases of the product to appear, affecting their condition for transport to distant markets,” Hortach president Alejandro Cifuentes told Tierramérica.