Fresh fruit and vegetable shipments from the Argentine ports of San Antonio Este and Bahía Blanca in Río Negro fell sharply in the first half of 2012, according to statistics released by port service operator Patagonia Norte.

Exports fell by 31% year-on-year to 283,000 metric tons (MT), driven mainly by cuts in pome fruit volumes but also onions and plums.

Big ticket item pears dropped by 26% to 201,740MT while apple shipments fell by 36% to 76,740MT.

While less significant in quantity, massive percentage cuts were recorded for onions decreasing 74% to 3,009MT, as well as plums with a fall of 80% to 195MT.

Russia was the main export destination for the region's fruit with 117,000MT, followed by the Netherlands with 43,490MT, the U.S. (31,180MT), Italy (27,130MT) and Algeria (17,320MT).

Univeg Expofrut was the leading exporter with a 21.2% share, followed by Patagonian Fruits Trade (20.32%), Pai S.A (13.53%), Moño Azul S.A (11.05%), Ecofrut S.A (7.87%) and Montever (4.18%).

Related story: Southern Argentine fruit exports hit 8-year low

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