Rocha pear: Portugal’s most important export product.

InPortugal, the fruit and vegetable sector is regarded as a priority by thegovernment. The aim for 2020 is to increase the turnover to 2 billion Euro. Itis expected that the production and export will increase. An increasing demandfor nuts, most importantly almonds and pistachios, is a fact, and young farmerscan act easily on this potential. The production of soft fruits is increasingas well.

The graduated Portuguese youthis interested in the veg and fruit business. Partly because they alreadypossess pieces of fertile land and partly because of the high unemploymentrates in the country. They have no use for their diplomas. It is thought that,with the correct coaching, these graduates can continue their career in thissector without quitting halfway through.

Production figures
Portugal mainly produces apples, pears, and oranges, with regard to freshfruit. In 2014, the production amounted to 274,000 tons of apples, 210,000 tonsof pears, and 251,000 tons of oranges.

Of other fruits, the productionamounted to 41,000 tons of peaches, 24,000 tons of bananas and plums, 18,500tons of kiwis, 15,000 tons of tangerines, 14,500 tons of lemons, and 10,500tons of cherries.

Of Portugal’s exported fruits,the Rocha pear is the queen of all. The Rocha pear may not be a beauty queen,but it is crunchy, quite resistant to pests and diseases, and it remains in agood condition for quite a while. The Rocha pear is registered as ProtectedDesignation of Origin. In 2014, Portugal exported 140,000 tons of Rocha pears. Thetop three largest markets are in the first place Brazil (€33.6 million),followed in second place by the UK (€15 million), and in third place France(€12.5 million).

The export of oranges in 2014totalled 94,500 tons. Spain bought 42.5 million Euro worth of oranges,while the Netherlands bought 134,000 Euro worth of oranges. The neighbouringcountry also bought Portuguese apples for 7 million Euro, while theNetherlands imported apples from Portugal 134,000 Euro.

Fruit: Negative trade balance
With few exceptions, Portugalhas a negative trade balance as regards fruit. 71,000 tons of apples and 54,000tons of peaches were imported in 2014. The exceptions are the pears andoranges, of which 24,000 and 84,000 tons respectively were imported, for thesethe export was higher than the import.

Portugal sees anincrease of the production of soft fruits. In 2011, the production of softfruits (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, redcurrants, and blackberries)was around 15,500 tons, while in 2014 the production increased to 22,000 tons.The export of soft fruits mainly goes to the Netherlands (€2.7 million) andSpain (€2.6 million). The self-sufficiency of fresh fruit is about 74%. ThePortuguese themselves eat 105 kilos of fruit per year.

Source:http://www.agroberichtenbuitenland.nl/