Chile: Danish chain refuses to import avocados from Petorca

Authorities and leaders of the province of Petorca spoke about a recent announcement made by Danish…

Authorities and leaders of the province of Petorca spoke about a recent announcement made by Danish supermarkets. They are refusing to import avocados from companies that have been sanctioned for usurping water resources in the area.

After the announcement, the governor of Petorca, Hernan Quezada, said he was always "concerned about these kinds of statements abroad."

Meanwhile, the secretary general of the Defense Movement for the access to water, land and environmental protection, Rodrigo Mundaca, applauded the measure and said that several complaints about usurpation of water had been ignored.

Mundaca said that a foreign market taking drastic measures against the water problem was a wake-up call to a government that, in his opinion, has never had the will to solve the underlying issue, which is the repeal of Article 19 number 24 of the Constitution.

The need to change current legislation is also a priority for the mayor of Petorca, Gustavo Valdenegro, who indicated that the Water Code should be reformed almost entirely.

That, he said, "could open the way to have greater equity in access to water and prevent companies from using all of the water of the rural communities."

According to senator Francisco Chahuan, who is a member of the Committee of Water Resources and Desertification, the draft law reforming the Water Code should be voted on in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, he said, the law is still being widely debated with all stakeholders, he said.

The regional secretary of agriculture and Chile's Avocado Hass Committee chose not to speak on the subject.