by Fresh Plaza,
The banana production in Uraba, intended for export to the U.S. and Europe, will fall by at least five million cases in the first half of the year.
This warning was raised by Juan Camilo Restrepo, president of the Association of Banana Growers of Colombia, who urged the national Government to start the construction of an irrigation and drainage system in the region.
“We asked the EPM and the National Government to make progress with the studies to allow, sooner rather than later, for the creation of an irrigation district. Not a drop of rain has fallen in Urabá since December, especially in the area devoted to the cultivation of the tropical fruit,” stated the president of the Association of Banana Producers.
Restrepo assured that the heat wave and lack of rainfall of the last three months have caused a drastic reduction not just of the banana production, but also of those of other tropical fruits.
The banana sector exported 90 million boxes of the fruit to North America and Europe in 2015; a figure likely to be significantly reduced in 2016.