The statements by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Alex Contreras, about replacing ceviche with chicken saltado, rice with seafood or squid pork rinds raised various questions from diners and gastronomy businessmen, who are affected by the rise in prices. lemon prices and other inputs used to prepare this emblematic dish. To address this issue, we spoke with Javier Vargas from the Association of Marine and Related Restaurants of Peru (Armap).
MEF asks to replace ceviche: what does the Association of Marine Restaurants think?
According to figures from the Supply and Price System of the Ministry of Agrarian Development, the price of lemon subtle and in the bag per box for this Wednesday, September 6, ranges from S/18 and S/18.50 per kilo in retail markets from Lima.
This significant increase affects the pocketbook of consumers and the sales of seafood restaurants, who use this citrus to prepare ceviche. Regarding this situation, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Alex Contreras, suggested that gastronomic businesses replace it with other dishes such as salted chicken or seafood rice. Faced with this, the response of the Association of Marine Restaurants was not long in coming.
“How does a Minister of State say that they substitute ceviche for rice with seafood, squid pork rinds or salted chicken! Squid has become so scarce in our sea that it cannot be offered and is currently very expensive. In addition, rice with seafood is a popular dish, but it cannot replace ceviche. It is an unfortunate statement that harms the restaurant sector because ceviche is the flagship dish of Peruvian cuisine and is irreplaceable,” said Javier Vargas, president of the Association of Marine and Related Restaurants of Peru (Armap), in statements to La Republic.
He also indicated that the sale of ceviches in restaurants has decreased by 35% during the last weekend and that they are using other citrus fruits to replace lemon such as sour orange from Huacho, tumbo or camu camu.
“We have heard the Minister of Economy say that the rise in the price of lemons could last until the end of November or the beginning of December. Despite the fact that we use other citrus fruits to replace lemons, it still has little public attention. On top of that, our billing has dropped to 35% over the last weekend,” he explained.
Lemon price increase: what does the Association of Marine Restaurants demand?
Due to the difficult situation faced by cevicherías in our country, Armap is promoting a campaign to reduce the price of ceviche by up to 50% during the activities of the Peruvian Cuisine Week. In addition, Javier Vargas assures that, in the restaurants grouped in his guild, the cost of this popular seafood dish will not increase.
“I call on President Dina Boluarte and the Ministry of Economy to lead the establishment of a dialogue table to raise the problems, challenges and opportunities that allow us to reactivate our gastronomy. We have been recognized as the best culinary destination in South America, we have the best restaurants in the world and we should be articulated with the Government to reduce the impact of price increases,” Vargas said in an interview with our outlet.
Seafood restaurants launch ceviche price offer: how long will it be?
From September 4 to 10, the Peruvian Cuisine Week has been taking place, with festivals organized by the municipalities of La Perla and San Juan de Lurigancho. In this event, ceviches are prepared with alternative citrus fruits such as sour orange from Huacho, tumbo juice, camu camu, aguaymanto, cocona and others that provide innovative flavors to our flagship dish.
“In the tourist viewpoint of La Perla, a gastronomic festival will be held this September 9 and 10. In addition, on the 15th and 16th of this month another similar event will be held in San Juan de Lurigancho with more than 30 restaurants summoned. Yesterday it was also held a festival in Huacho, where we offer ceviche for S/25, which costs S/42. This, with the purpose of promoting the consumption of ceviche and reactivating gastronomy,” explained the spokesperson for the union that brings together more than 38,000 cevicherías In our country.
Source: Larepublica
Alia is a professional author and journalist, working at 247 news agency. She writes on various topics from economy news to general interest pieces, providing readers with relevant and informative content. With years of experience, she brings a unique perspective and in-depth analysis to her work.
