A Brazilian avocado exporter plans to increase its acreage by a hundred hectares per year over the next three years in order to capitalize on the strong demand there is of the fruit abroad.
Vitor Falanghe Carvalho, of Jaguacy Avocado Brazil, explained during his debut as an exhibitor in Berlin's Fruit Logistica that Europe was the largest market for his company and that they sold nearly a fifth of their production in the local market.
"We are an exporting company, but we also have an office in the Netherlands, a Dutch partner who can help us sell our avocados."
Falanghe Carvalho said it was also important to sell their products with added value.
" Since we are in a tropical country, a lot of fruit spoils due to the wind, rain and insects, so we need to do something with the rejected fruit. Our goal is to make frozen avocado and avocado oil," he said.
Jaguacy gets its production from the state of São Paulo and some supplies from other farms in Minas Gerais. Most of the company's production is of the Hass variety, something that has changed throughout the years.
"In fact, Brazil is best known for working with green skin avocados. We started to export them in the early eighties and then we realized that the market was looking for Fuerte and Hass avocado, so we began to develop new plantations, trying to be more active in the European market."
Although the group is facing a strong competition from larger regions producing Hass avocado, Falanghe Carvalho believes that results will come if they focus on quality.
"Our season starts in February with the Fuerte variety and then, in early March, we start harvesting Hass avocados. This season goes until August, it's about the same as in Peru and South Africa."
Source: FreshFruitPortal.com