More than 70 thousand tons of oranges go bad in Zaire
Mbanza Kongo – At least 80,000 tons of oranges produced last year in the border municipality of Nóqui, province of Zaire, were spoiled due to lack of drainage.
The fact was advanced today (Monday) to ANGOP, by the municipal director of Agriculture, Tuzolana Mudiambu, stressing that the situation is irritating local farmers, who have citrus fruit production as their main source of income and survival.
He made it known that, in the current year of 2021, close to 56 thousand tons of oranges are also at risk of rotting in that village bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The agronomist also said that, in addition to the poor condition of the roads between production sites and consumption centres, the closure of borders due to Covid-19 further aggravated the situation.
Tuzolana Mudiambu said that before the emergence of this pandemic, around 70 percent of citrus fruit production in the municipality of Nóqui was sold in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and 30 percent in national markets, mainly in Luanda.
“Citrus fruit producers (oranges, lemons, grapefruit, limes, tangerines, clementines, bergamots and citrons) prefer the DRC markets due to the large volume of oranges sold in relation to national markets. ”, explained the municipal director of Agriculture of Noqui.
He considered the municipality he administers to be one of the great “lungs” in citrus production in the province of Zaire, with an extension of more than five thousand hectares of cultivated land. As well as citrus fruit, he said, Nóqui also produces cassava, jinguba, maize, maize beans, bananas, beans and vegetables on a large scale.Located 165 kilometers from the city of Mbanza Kongo, the municipality of Nóqui has an estimated population of over 23,000 inhabitants, spread over three communes: Lufico, Mpala and Sede.
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