Forceful and with numbers in his hands, the president of the National Institute of Yerba Mate (INYM), Juan José Szychowskiratified the full validity of the institution that regulates herbal activity: “The INYM “It is a successful experience of public-private management, and proof of this is that with its validity, yerba mate is one of the best regional economies in Argentina,” he said in dialogue with Ambit.
According to Szychowski“he producer price it is paid above the official value, new ventures were consolidated generating more employment, sales of manufactured yerba mate increased benefiting industries, we take care of quality and we are already venturing into agroecology, which is what the world is asking for, where it is noticeable a growing demand for healthy, natural foods that are good for your health,” he argued.
Yerba mate, the importance for the country’s regional economy
With the upcoming presidential elections, Szychowski noted that “Argentines are once again faced with the possibility of choosing between two great models of governance, one characterized by the presence of the State to guarantee growth and development for all sectors, and another free market, which greatly benefits the most important companies.” powerful to the detriment of other actors in society, generating unemployment and hunger,” he noted.
In that sense, he recalled what happened in previous government experiences, “as happened with the herbal sector during the 90swhen the oligopolistic management of the commercialization of weed was accentuated, causing a drop in raw material prices and a deep social crisis, something that we do not want to repeat,” he said.
In numbers, the herbal activity is one of the most important for the local economy. With more than 100 years of systematic cultivation in the provinces of Missions and Currentsgenerates work for 15 thousand tareferos, 12,500 producers, 49 cooperatives, 200 dryers and 100 industries. “We are going through a very good time,” Szychowski emphasized. “The price of the green leaf is paid to producers above the official value (which was set at 120 pesos per kilo of green leaf, and they end up paying more than 140 pesos), and in the first half of 2023, the industries “They dispatched the largest number of packages in history, reaching a historical record of 138,749,599 thousand kilos of sales in the domestic market, which is equivalent to more than 320 billion pesos,” he explained. Szychowski.
Juan José Szychowski inym yerba 2
According to the owner of the INYM“health and well-being are growing industries in the world, which is why our Argentine yerba mate has more and more acceptance both in Europe and in the United States, because it is a food that is good for your health, and if We add to that that agroecology is expanding on our lands, we are facing a very favorable scenario.”
“That is to say: we are facing great opportunities,” reiterated the President of the INYM. “We have an Institution that organizes the herbal sector and implements actions to strengthen it, actions defined in a Board of Directors made up of the public and private sectors, and the activity is carried out in a territory that is supported by cutting-edge environmental laws – being the sanction of the most recent Law for the Promotion of Bioinputs; with protected areas; and with businessmen and businesswomen who add versatility and relevance to Argentine tradition,” he noted.
Argentina, main producer and exporter of yerba mate
Argentina is the main producer and exporter of yerba mate in the world. Last year, 829,237,261 kilos of green leaf were harvested, and consumption reached 316,113,503 kilos (275,809,497 kilos of kilos in the national market and another 40,304,006 kilos abroad – it is exported to more than 50 countries-), a figure similar to the 2021 period, when there was a record consumption, going from 5.90 kilos of yerba mate to 6.17 kilos per person per year.
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Products based on yerba mate have multiplied in a diversity of brands and forms of consumption (energizing and refreshing drinks, soluble yerba mate and in capsules as a dietary supplement, beers based on yerba mate; exquisite mixtures that provide unique flavors and aromas) in different parts of the world, mainly in Spain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
New markets to export yerba mate
He INYM “has been working for add consumers in the Middle East, the European Union and the United Statessupporting the presence of herbal companies with their brands in the main food fairs (Gulfood, in Dubai; Alimentaria, in Spain; Anuga, in Germany; Fancy Food, in the United States; Food & Services, in Chile and Sial Paris, in France), and with the launch of the American Yerba Mate Association, in the United States, whose objective is to make known the beneficial qualities of the product for health, something that is of great interest to the public in that part of the world,” he explained. Szychowski.
Environmental and economic sustainability of yerba mate
The president of INYM, Juan José Szychowskialso said that “we are moving towards yerba mate production in balance with the environment, and along those lines, towards economic sustainability.”
“We seek to reach each of the farms, contributing so that the herb is productive over time, with our technicians from the Yerbatero Extension Service (SEY) and with the Technical Area programs that are designed to facilitate access to technology and implements and also to improve working conditions,” he emphasized.
Extreme climate events, such as the drought of 2022, “pose new challenges for us and in that framework, the INYM instructed the 13 SEY technicians to work alongside the producers to return native trees, water, essential services, natural balance to the farms, mitigating the effects of climate change, and moving towards environmental and economic sustainability,” he said.
Source: Ambito
