Bolivian banana producers claim to have suffered losses for U$D60M due to COVID

Bolivian banana producers estimate that they have lost more than U$D 60M this year due to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which also reached the Argentine market, the main buyer of this Bolivian fruit.
According to the producers, the sale to the neighboring country not only fell in volume but also in price.
Due to the oversupply of bananas in the Argentine market, the box of this fruit, weighing 20 kilos, is currently priced at U$D 4.50, when the actual price should be U$D 6.
The production of the box costs the producers U$D 2.50, but they only receive between U$D 1.80 and U$D 2. They invest in transport, cardboard, rubber, and other supplies, in addition to payments to the National Customs, Transaction Tax Financial and phytosanitary examinations, which fruit exporters must cover.
This situation is so unfavorable for Bolivian producers that many have already stopped exporting and prefer to divert quality bananas to the domestic market. Until last March, 90% of the export bananas produced in Chapare were sent to Argentina, but today the figure has dropped to 75%.