Bolivian authorities seize illegal potato from Peru

The Bolivian National Customs (AN) and Bolivia´s National Service for Agricultural Health and Food Safety (Senasag) seized 185 bags of potatoes that are presumed to have been smuggled into a warehouse located between the city of La Paz and the town of Laja.

Smuggling, especially Peruvian potatoes, has caused an imbalance in the prices of this tuber in the main markets of Bolivia. By entering illegally and not paying the required taxes, it is an unfair price competition that "strangles" the sectoral economy. In the wholesale Abasto market, for example, it was found that 70% of the potatoes offered are of Peruvian origin and that 30% correspond to national production.