Rise in pesticides and electricity “stifle” Yucatecan fruit growers

Mérida, Yucatán .- Freddy Domínguez Aké, president of the Association of Fruit Growers of Southern Yucatán, warned about the increase in the cost of products used for fieldwork, which in combination with the increase in energy prices, impact the pockets of producers, who see their profits dwindle.

“Everything is expensive, with inflation everything is expensive for us, the inputs needed to control the pests of trees and even vegetables are expensive. Also, there is little trade in terms of that,” he explained.

The leader of this group indicated that the increases are reflected in products such as insecticides and fungicides, as well as in electricity, vital for the irrigation of their production lands. He reported that there are products that used to cost 700 pesos, today cost up to 1,500 pesos, that is, they have doubled in price, so farmers see their profit margins diminished.

In addition to this situation, he pointed out that they are also paying more for the transportation of products, and obviously the gasoline prices have increased in all of Mexico ever since Lopez Obrador took office.

“One part is the impact of the pandemic, the other, by its very nature, is that the price is rising, in terms of gasoline, it is breaking our souls as well. People who do not have a vehicle and go to their land to harvest and bring 20 crates of lemons, have to pay 15 pesos to have them brought to them. Before it cost 12 pesos, they increased it by 3 pesos”, he mentioned.

The farmers urged the federal government to apply support strategies that allow farmers to overcome these situations, because today they feel completely abandoned.

The Yucatan Times
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