At least 10 thousand hectares of banana plantations were flooded in the Cochabamba tropic, causing millions in losses to the community and producers, the representatives of the Banana Union of the Cochabamba Tropic (Unaban) and the Agricultural Chamber of Cochabamba (CAC) reported. The governor of Cochabamba, Ivan Canelas, stated that according to reports the last rains and floods had affected about 5 thousand hectares and some 7,500 families in the Cochabamba tropic. Shortly after, CAC coordinator Rolando Morales said the number was 7 thousand hectares, but finally the legal representative of Unaban, Andy Choque, who was arriving from Chapare, where he and representatives of the National Integral Development Fund (Fonadin) had carried out an inspection, declared that there were at least 10 thousand hectares flooded. According to Choque, the initial figures (about 7 thousand hectares) only took into consideration the hectares that grew banana for export, while the 10 thousand hectares also includes the fruit destined for the domestic market. Both Morales and Choque said that the area affected also included palm, pineapple, and citrus crops, but that practically 95 percent of the affected crops corresponded to bananas. "We calculate about 3 thousand dollars of investment per hectare," said Choque, who considered that if these figures were verified, there would be about 30 million dollars of losses. According to Choque, the problem with bananas is the deep stress that the plant undergoes when receiving excess water and then violently returning to a warm climate. Morales, in turn, said they had also received reports that some 15,000 boxes for export, which had already been harvested, had also been lost. Source - https://www.freshplaza.com