Colombia's pitahaya harvest began two weeks ago and forecasts are very good. The lack of rain, which was detrimental to many other fruits, was beneficial for this exotic fruit. "Production increased compared to the previous years, mainly because of the lack of rain. The pitahaya, which is a species of cactus, is favored by dry climates, like the one we've had this year," said Luis Becerra, from Interfresh.
This favored production has been accompanied by an unexpected growing demand from Asia. "Asia is the main market. The pitahaya is an expensive product, so Europe is not demanding much because of their economic recession. Chinese demand has stood out this campaign, as it has grown by more than 10% over the previous seasons," said Becerra.
Colombia exports small quantities of pitahaya and only by air, as they have a high perishability, which is one of the main differences with the variety grown in Ecuador. "We export small volumes of this fruit because freight rates are very high and we can't ship it by sea as the product wouldn't resist the journey. Compared with the fruit from Ecuador, our sizes are smaller, which makes it physically more exotic, but our prices are much higher, as a box costs in average $5 dollars. Therefore, we have a lot of competition," concluded the spokesman.
For more information:
Luis Becerra
Interfresh
T: + 57 31177 09508
E: lbecerra@interfreshproduce.com
www.interfreshproduce.com
Interfresh
T: + 57 31177 09508
E: lbecerra@interfreshproduce.com
www.interfreshproduce.com