Buenos Aires: Garlic has become a major vegetable export in Argentina, as the country is the second largest exporter of garlic in the world and one of its main producers.
Beyond the myths and legends that surround this vegetable, it actually possesses numerous therapeutic and nutritional properties that contribute to this vegetable’s quality.
“The quality parameter is one of the main strengths of the garlic sector, it allows us to satisfy the demand of the most demanding markets,” said Diana Guillén, president of the National Health Service and Food Quality (SENASA).
The official also noted that, “this makes it possible to align our product with the global production trend that promotes the production of high quality garlic focused on the consumer, and that considers the cultivation and good agricultural practices stages essential. The quality, health and safety control of the crop is one of the key things SENASA does throughout the Argentine territory.”
In turn, it’s these quality standards that achieved making the garlic the third most exported vegetable by Argentina during 2014, according to SENASA.
Last year, garlic exports amounted to 64,074 tons and represented 12% of total shipments of vegetables abroad. The main destinations were Brazil, 49 964 tons (78%), Taiwan, 3,969 tons (6%), France, 2,366 tons (4%) and the United States, 2,364 tons (4%).
“Historically, the provinces of Mendoza and San Juan have concentrated most of Argentina’s garlic production thanks to the favourable climate of the Andean region. During 2014, they accounted for 95 percent (63 714 tons) of the garlic Argentina exported,” said Carlos Lehmacher, director of the SENASA Regional Centre in Cuyo.
In the 2013/2014 campaign, the province of Mendoza had 7564 ha devoted to the garlic production and, according to estimates by the Foundation Rural Development Institute (RDI), the surface will increase by 27% to 9701 ha for the 2015 season. Other provinces that contribute to the garlic sector’s production are: Buenos Aires (145 tons), Misiones (144 tons), La Rioja (46 tons) and Rio Negro (26 tons).
Argentine consumers respond favourably to the garlic offer and their annual per capita consumption amounts to 2 kg, according to a report by SENASA in the book Field sanitation, quality in the dishes.
