Peru: Uboic exporting organic bananas to Europe

The Inmaculada Concepción Organic Banana Growers Union (UBOIC) of Huangalá, Peru, started the year on a positive note. On 4 January it started exporting organic bananas directly to Europe.

The 227 Uboic members, all small producers from Alto Chira, took up the challenge of growing and exporting their flagship product overseas without intermediaries. Currently four weekly containers are being produced, which will increase to six in February. The Union's main client in Europe is the German firm Port International, based in Hamburg, but it already has contacts and orders from AgroFair to export to other European countries and with the firm Discovery to export to Canada.

Uboic has strategic alliances with Swisscontact, Cipca, the Ministry of Agriculture, FLO and shortly also with Root Capital. Uboic's goals for 2013 are to consolidate its export supply, to improve product quality even more, to obtain certifications required by the market and to improve irrigation facilities.

The firm has NOP and EU Organic Certifications, allowing it to export the fruit to the United States and the European Union, a Fair Trade Certification valid until 2016, and in February it will also receive the GlobalGap certification.

Source: Eltiempo.pe