Onion producers, united in the Producers Association of the Highlands Community, in the province of Chiriquí, protested yesterday, Monday, in the adjoining areas of the Centro Post Cosecha (Post-harvest Center) located in the corregimiento of Vocán, to denounce the use of the facilities by a producer and some State officials, and to publicly protest for the slowness of the Institute of Agriculture Marketing (IMA) to comply with the purchase of the 10 million pounds of onions that were order from the Association concerned.
Producers set off in a caravan from the headquarters of the Association for the Post-harvest Center in pickups loaded with onions and positioned themselves around the premises without impeding the movement of vehicles on the main road that connects Volcán with Cerro Punta.
The protesters expect the authorities of the Cold Chain to give them an explanation of why an exclusive use of the Post-harvest Center is being given to a particular producer and why they are not buying the onion from the rest of the producers. Similarly, they are also demanding the IMA to explain what the reason is for the slowness in the purchase of the onion that they promised to buy from the protesting producers.
Augusto Jiménez, president of the Association, said that the use of the facilities of the Post-harvest Center of Volcán should be available for use equitably by all producers and not through the use of influences as is the case at this time.
"Our fight not is against a producer, since all producers from the High Lands, partners and not have the same right to use these modern facilities, what we do not see fair is that a producer, who is at the same time an official government is allowed to use traffic of influence to benefit his personal interests”, ensures the President of the grouping of producers.
He added that for two weeks their onion has not been purchased at the Post-harvest Center, which generates concern to producers, since there is a risk that the production of this bulb may be lost.
This scenario is added to the slowness of the IMA, to buy the 10 million pounds of onions that they committed themselves to buy from the producers, to solve the crisis of marketing, since the domestic market is saturated with imported onions.
"Until today (Monday), only 3,600 pounds of onion has been bought;" some 22 days has passed since the agreement was signed and in these moments, the producers do not know what to do with the harvested onion, because they don't know how to dry it and time is passing and again they have another production to harvest”.
He said that the attitude of the IMA shows little interest in solving the problem facing the High Land producers due to imports with no control, at the moment the national harvest is given, which directly affects the domestic producers.
Defense
Virgilio Saldaña, Member of the Board of Directors of the Cold Chain who keeps 700 quintals of onions in the Center, said that three weeks ago the onion was taken to this place at the request of several executives, for testing in the drying chambers. "I'm not using any influence for the use of the facilities," he said.
