A frost on Friday in the Southeast Region of the Mexican state of Coahuila, where the temperature dropped to -3 ° C, caused damage to 1,500 hectares of potatoes and losses of at least 500 million pesos. This will also affect the jobs generated by this crop in the region, which amounts to about 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.
"This weather event foiled the possibility of obtaining first-class potatoes which are released to the market with a more competitive price," said Roberto Garza, one of the affected producers.
Manuel Montes, another producer, said that, despite saving part of the crops that were ready for harvesting, they had important losses that will directly affect the producers' income. "The potato is an expensive crop, so if you don't make a profit you completely lost your investment. The truth is we all run risks producing potatoes and the profits are not proportional to the risk," he said.
The president of the National Confederation of Potato Producers of the Mexican Republic (Conpapa), Jose Antonio Cepeda, said the temperature would continue to be lower than what is expected in October.
However, some crops were already ready, so producers hope to rescue at least 50 percent of the production.
Source: vanguardia.com.mx