The 8.8-magnitude earthquake which struck Chile in the early hours of Saturday (27 February) is reportedly causing logistical problems for the fresh fruit trade given that much of the country’s infrastructure has been weakened.
Gill McShane writes on fruitnet.com Both the country’s main highway heading south (Ruta 5 Sur) as well as the main highway outside the international airport in Santiago (Vespucio Norte) have been damaged, according to local news reports. Several bridges throughout the central and south regions have also been broken.
The Port of Valparaíso, however, remains operational. Officials told Fruitnet.com that fruit is currently being loaded from Berth 6 while structural assessments continue. Operations were initially suspended on Saturday.
The international airport in Santiago, meanwhile, has also re-opened with a limited service and is expected to return to full capacity in 48 hours.
While still too early to assess the full and long-term effects, many Chilean fruit growers and exporters told Fruitnet.com that much of the impact on farms lies with damage to cooling and storage facilities, with the loss of electricity and running water being the main problem.
“This will be a logistic and export problem, rather than one for fruit production,” said Raúl Dastres of berry exporter Valle Maule. “Several coolers are without energy.”
Jon Cappelluti of Summerland Sales & Exports explained that the damage is widespread across Chile’s south-central region, adding that he believes table grapes are the most affected crop, with potential problems for early apples and pears.
“Lots of cold storages and packing houses in Curico, Talca and Linares have no power,” Mr Cappellutti stated. “Fruit is getting warm and consequently being lost.”
The epicentre of the quake was 115km north-east of Chile’s second-largest city Concepción in the Biobío area (Region VIII) and 325km south-west of Santiago.
The cities of Concepción, Constitution, Talcahuano, Curicó and other towns on Chile’s Pacific coastline were hardest hit, according to local media. Effects were reportedly felt from the V Region all the way south to the IX Region.
|
