ISSUE 110 | 2022
Vesna Marinkovic U.
In order to reach external sales levels such as those of natural gas, the chestnut industrialization would require public policies aimed at improving and strengthening the productivity and marketing of this product.
1The chestnut business is an almost ancestral business in Amazonian regions like Pando. How much water does it require to be profitable?
According to data extracted from the “Sustainable use of chestnuts” report, which was prepared by the Ministry of Environment and Water, with the support of the Italian Agency and FAO – 2022, the Bolivian Amazonian chestnut business is managed in a geographical context between Pando (63,827 Km2), Beni in the provinces of Vaca Díez (22,434 Km2) and Gral. José Ballivián (40,444 Km2); and the Department of La Paz, Iturralde province (42,815 km2).
After the rubber boom, the chestnut was its replacement and since then the fruit has been collected for exports. Being an organic and natural fruit produced in the wild, which is exploited preserving the environment, the term “cultivation” is not used. It is rather, a manual harvesting of the chestnut fruit that comes from centuries-old trees and depend exclusively on the natural conditions of the environment, such as the natural cycle of rains that coincide with the harvest period, ( November, December, January), with the rains and the winds of the season, that make coconuts fall, and afterwards the fruit is extracted, that is why it is a manual harvest.
2Can we say that chestnut production is developed taking care of the balance of the environment in the productive regions?
According to information from the aforementioned document and CADEXNOR, on September 27, 2004, Law 2847 was enacted, in which the chestnut tree (Bertholletia excelsa) is protected, with all its elements; also establishing its biogenetic legal protection, not having another use but the manual harvesting of its fruits (the chestnut). Likewise, in the Political Constitution of the State, in Article 390, which establishes that the integral and sustainable development of the Bolivian Amazon is a priority, through a participatory, shared and equitable administration; thus, generating employment to improve the income of its inhabitants, within a regulatory framework of protection and sustainability.
Being the main source of income of the region’s economy, community members and businessmen take care of the chestnut through a management plan prepared by forest engineers, and in the case of indigenous communities, the management plan is carried out through participatory construction processes that establish legitimacy, as well as carrying out a chestnut trees census.
3Bolivia has become the leading exporter of this product worldwide. What are the recommendations from the IBCE to make the production and export of chestnuts sustainable?
Since Bolivia is the world’s leading exporter of chestnuts, it is recommended that, jointly – zafreros, producers (barraqueros), exporters (beneficiadoras) and the Government – define a sustained, applicable and sustainable policy for the sector, which helps to mitigate the poverty in the country’s Amazon region and to improve the competitiveness of chestnut exports, in terms of quality and price. A value-added business model would be ideal.
“It is crucial to control the smuggling of Bolivian chestnuts to Peru, for which it is necessary to strengthen government policies…”
It would also be highly recommended that the chestnuts sector aim to meet five Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in order to attract investment, SDG 2: End hunger, while achieving food security and improving nutrition, promoting sustainable agriculture; SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, as well as full and productive employment promoting decent work for all; and finally, SDG 12: Guarantee sustainable consumption and production patterns, without this implying that they can take into account other objectives.
4Is the existing infrastructure sufficient to support the development of the chestnut and its export?
Since the chestnut is not considered a crop, it is not handled with machinery or other types of infrastructure. However, there are the roads and food control laboratories necessary to promote competitiveness in the foreign market. Having said that, having more and better penetration and export paths will be mandatory to promote this industry.
5What are the most important markets for the export of this product?
Bolivian chestnut exports went to more than 40 countries and their main destination was the Netherlands with more than 3,800 tons and a value of more than 30 million dollars; USA, with more than 3,000 tons and almost 27 million dollars; and the United Kingdom, with more than 1,600 tons for more than 12 million. Other target markets are: Germany, Canada, Vietnam, Australia, Italy, Peru, France, Israel, Spain, Colombia, United Arab Emirates, Greece, Brazil, South Africa, Poland, Norway, Kazakhstan, among the most important.
6Is it possible to control chestnut smuggling to neighboring countries like Peru, for example?
It is crucial to control the smuggling of Bolivian chestnuts to Peru, for which it is necessary to strengthen government policies in terms of customs control points between border areas, access roads and highway maintenance, both in Beni and Pando, which, together with Cochabamba, are the main regions that export this product. On the other hand, we must also add the control and monitoring of the manual harvest, where hundreds of people enter the forest committed to manually harvest certain amounts of chestnuts. Having to do with the welfare of the manual harvesters who participate in this productive chain, mainly, it is recommended to apply social norms that benefit the harvesters, such as the “Triple Seal”, which has been very successful in the sugar sector, to improve the quality of life and income of the harvesters, which would allow them to have more control from harvesting to marketing, benefiting the entire chestnut production chain.
7Can we mention the essential inputs for the production of chestnuts?
For the chestnut harvest, the manual harvesters need essential tools to work in the forests, among them they need machetes, knives, chainsaws and safety supplies such as boots, gloves, among others. The chestnut processing is carried out in an industrial plant, where the transformation of the product is carried out, which consists of peeling the chestnut, seed or almond shells, by breaking them. The processing of chestnuts has several subprocesses, such as storage, drying, parboiled, broken, selected, baked, vacuum packed and packed in boxes for sale.
8Could the export of chestnuts replace or palliate the income coming from gas exports?
Being the preferred chestnut in the international market due to its characteristics and nutritional value, the Bolivian chestnut is a great opportunity to improve Bolivian exports, taking into account that the chestnut is a world leader, covering 50% of the international market, currently occupying the second place within Non-Traditional Exports (ENT); in order to reach foreign sales levels such as those from natural gas, public policies aimed at improving and strengthening the productivity and marketing of chestnuts by the state would be necessary.
