On January 20, Paraguay shipped out its first shipment of bananas to Chile. The shipment consisted of 1,248 boxes of bananas produced in Tembiaporã, in the department of Caaguazu, and was shipped out from the department of Presidente Hayes.

The cargo will arrive at its destination in 72 hours and will cross much of the Argentine territory before arriving there. The exporter and president of the unio, Hugo Franco, said the fruit was subjected to a pre-cooling treatment until it reached 14° C; a temperature that will be maintained during the transfer.

Each box has about 19 kg of banana and was sold at $5 to the importer HJC Fruits SPA. 50% of the cargo was produced by Franco and the other half was produced by five small farmers that work with the Intersectoral Board of Banana Competitiveness.

The buyer has requested 6,000 boxes a week, but the seller has preferred to be cautious with this first experience. “We are sure about the quality of the banana we are sending thanks to the experience we have in the domestic market. The only reason we decided not to close the deal on such a large amount is that, since it is perishable merchandise, we wanted to be prudent,” Franco said.

Almost all of the banana is exported to Argentina and, since the distance to this country is very small, the bananas are sent in open boxes. Meanwhile, the bananas shipped to Chile are sent in refrigerated trucks.