During September, three missions of officials from the Ministries of Agriculture of Colombia, Peru and Mexico will audit Portuguese fruit and vegetables; if successful, this will open the doors for export to these countries. In a time when Brazil, which receives 40% of Portugal's Rocha pears, is facing economic difficulties, and when the Russian veto has caused an increase in the fruit's supply in the European market, these visits are "absolutely critical" for the sector, says Manuel Évora, president of Portugal Fresh, Association devoted to the Promotion of Fruits, Vegetables and Flowers.
These so-called "technical missions" are being prepared under the supervision of Assunção Cristas and involves producers represented by the National Operational and Technological Horticultural Centre (COTHN), the National Association of Rocha Pear Producers (ANP) and Portugal Fresh.
Mexico is the market in which the opening to Portuguese imports is closer to coming to fruition. The visit scheduled to take place between 21 and 24 September is intended for the "final validation," adds Manuel Évora. The most recent visit (Colombia's) took place up to last Saturday and consisted of visits to Rocha pear orchards and warehouses of producer organizations. The success of the technical mission would open the possibility of doing business with a country with "50 million inhabitants, with the particularity of being present in the group Jeronimo Martins with Ara stores. This can be a great opportunity for Portuguese fruit, and in particular for Rocha pears," he continues.
The company directed by Pedro Soares dos Santos, owner of Pingo Doce, currently has 100 supermarkets in Colombia. The most recent was inaugurated last week in Cartagena de Indias and entail the launch of the Ara chain in the region of the Caribbean coast, where there will be 40 stores by the end of the year.
Fruit and vegetable producers will also pursue to enter the Maghreb and the Far East and have designed a new map for exports together with the Ministry of Agriculture. "A major goal is China, which can be a very interesting option in peak production years to help bring balance to the global supply and demand of Rocha pears," affirms Manuel Évora.
Rocha pear growers have had to rely too much on Brazil. In 2014, ANP members exported 102,000 tonnes of pears, with 40.2% of them going to Brazil, followed by the UK, which accounted for 17.5%, France (16.5%), Morocco (9.5%) and Ireland (5.9%).
Source: publico.pt
