Gustavo Sáenz and Carlos Sadir criticize the Government for a measure that exposes banana production to "health disasters"

The decision by the National Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries to repeal eight phytosanitary regulations through Resolution 114/2026 - including the resolution 99 in effect since 1994 - has raised alarms in northern Argentina. Governors Gustavo Sáenz (Salta) and Carlos Sadir (Jujuy) reacted to public opinion and questioned the measure that, they warned, puts at risk of extinction a regional production that is already struggling.{#p-1785185907835-27230}

"Some national official, with a stroke of a pen, repeals a decree that has protected banana-producing provinces for over 30 years. It’s not that we don’t want to compete; these fungi put the land at risk and make it unproductive for years," Sáenz stated in radio comments this weekend, coinciding with the inauguration of the Palermo Rural Exhibition, which the Salta governor chose not to attend.{#p-1785185907836-37899}

The governor of Jujuy, Carlos Sadir, expressed his concern and supported the demands of banana producers from the province and the NOA region. "I am worried about the situation of banana producers in Jujuy and the NOA after the elimination of norms that protected our productive areas. It’s not about protecting markets, but about safeguarding an activity that generates jobs, development, and also roots," he affirmed.{#p-1785185907836-84303}

He warned that the measure jeopardizes an activity that is strategic for the development of regional economies and that the lack of adequate controls could expose plantations to devastating diseases, putting decades of work and investment at risk. Therefore, he supported the request made by producers for the Government to review Resolution 114/2026.{#p-1785186627497-80176}

I am worried about the situation of banana producers in Jujuy and the NOA after the elimination of norms that protected our productive areas. It’s not about protecting markets, but about safeguarding an activity that generates jobs, development, and roots. pic.twitter.com/wOciOjpF0Q{#p-1785186108814-22824}
--- Carlos Sadir (@carlossadirjuy) July 27, 2026

The resolution, published last Monday, July 21, and signed by Secretary of Agriculture Sergio Iraeta, repealed eight resolutions issued between 1992 and 2013, categorizing them as "obsolete" and "unnecessary" under the framework of Law 27.742 of deregulation. Among the suppressed norms was resolution 99 on plant health, in effect since February 1994, which restricted the entry into the NOA market of bananas from countries or areas affected by quarantine pests such as Mycosphaerella fijiensis (Black Sigatoka). Resolution 823 of 2006, which extended that protection to Formosa and Misiones, was also repealed.{#p-1785185907836-67822}

A sector in crisis {#p-1785185907836-88952}

Argentine banana production is limited to Salta, Jujuy, Formosa, and Misiones, and represents only between 10% and 15% of national consumption. With 12 kilograms per capita annually, bananas are the most consumed fruit in the country; between 85% and 90% of the demand is met by imports, mainly from Ecuador, the primary source of foreign fruit.{#p-1785185907836-94752}

In this scenario, Salta accounts for between 65% and 70% of the national volume, with 2,784 hectares in production in the Orán and San Martín departments, managed by about 60 producers. Jujuy contributes a smaller but strategic fraction in the Ledesma department. Formosa once had 4,800 hectares and nearly 800 producers, although the area has significantly reduced in recent years. Misiones, with only 30 hectares, is the smallest producer in the national banana belt.{#p-1785185907836-4892}

The president of the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producers of Salta, José Luis Checa, in statements to a local media outlet, illustrated the extent of the collapse: "In the '80s, we had 20,000 hectares across the country, and today we are down to 3,800." The 80% reduction over four decades is attributed to unfair competition from imports with low tariffs, recurrent frosts affecting the entire Salta area, and the chronic indebtedness of producers who were paying off loans to cope with climate damage from previous years.{#p-1785185907836-10400}

Salta is one of the provinces affected by the deregulation of banana production.{#p-1785186747589-14676}

The Threat {#p-1785185907836-12066}

The producers' concern is not based on commercial or price competition, it is asserted, but on the phytosanitary safety of the soils. The source of alarm is the Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 (R4T), known as Panama Disease, a lethal fungus that penetrates through the root, obstructs the plant's vascular system, and kills it. The pathogen, which does not affect humans, is devastating for crops and has already been reported in Colombia (2019), Peru (2021), and Ecuador (2025), the main source of imported bananas to the country.{#p-1785185907836-93936}

"When that disease enters production, the plantation is finished. Where that plantation entered, it is no longer usable, and bananas cannot be planted for 30 or 40 years," Checa warned. The Secretary of Agricultural Development of Salta, Diego Dorigato, confirmed the seriousness: "If a fungus like R4T enters, the plantation must be destroyed and we must wait 30 years for its permanence. That ends a complete regional economy."{#p-1785185907836-66447}

The productive region of northern Argentina remains, to this day, free from serious quarantine diseases such as Black Sigatoka and Panama Disease. This privileged sanitary condition allows it to maintain high phytosanitary standards and reduce the need for intensive applications of agrochemicals, which directly impacts costs and the final quality of the product.{#p-1785185907836-30843}

The Demand {#p-1785185907836-36800}

Sáenz and Sadir agreed that the measure was taken without prior consultation with the affected provinces and with a blatant ignorance of the productive realities of the interior. "We are defending the lands and telling those in Buenos Aires that, once and for all, they should consult. I find it disrespectful and a total ignorance of what Argentina and the region are," Sáenz emphasized.{#p-1785185907836-30831}

From the national government, it was pointed out that the measure is part of a process of regulatory updating aimed at eliminating regulations considered obsolete or replaced by more modern administrative procedures, although they clarified that the repeal does not imply that bananas can enter without sanitary controls.{#p-1785185907836-67000}

Sadir emphasized that the concern is not merely commercial but about productive survival. "It is not about protecting markets, but about safeguarding an activity that generates jobs, development, and also roots," reiterated the governor of Jujuy, while informing that his administration supports the producers' request for the government to review the resolution and safeguard the health of the productive areas.{#p-1785185907836-648}

The Other Side {#p-1785185907836-14629}

Beyond the NOA, the resolution also revoked phytosanitary protection for the NEA. In Formosa, banana production has always been significant, covering 80% of the national supply and concentrating nearly 800 producers over an area exceeding 4,000 hectares in the departments of Pilcomayo and Pilagás. However, the lack of competitiveness against imported fruit and infrastructure issues—roads, access to water, and absence of technology—have reduced activity.{#p-1785185907836-11953}

In Misiones, production is marginal—only 30 hectares, according to official data—but still vulnerable to the potential entry of pathogens that do not exist in Argentine territory. Resolution 823/2006, now revoked, was precisely the instrument that protected these provinces in the NEA from phytosanitary exposure.{#p-1785185907836-82522}

In light of this situation, the government of Salta has already initiated discussions with the National Agriculture Secretariat and SENASA to demand rigorous control schemes, inspection barriers, and origin certifications. The provincial Ministry of Production and Sustainable Development is working on a report regarding the severe productive, economic, and social impacts that this measure could entail. Producers, for their part, have requested meetings with SENASA authorities and indicated that they do not rule out legal actions if the resolution is not reversed.