San Rafael's plantain production could be exported to the United States, so the sector is going to run a test this summer to determine the feasibility of sending this fruit to be marketed in that country, said Luis Grappin Pumarino, president of San Rafael's Plantain Association.
"We'll probably run a trial in summer to start exporting to the other side of the border. We've had some proposals from Japan which we find difficult because of the distance and because there are still many things we must work on," he said.
He said that if plantain exports to that country were approved, the plantain producers would have very short commitments because they have short seasons, as the area from San Rafael was very sensitive to weather changes that could damage the fruit, and make them lose their export quality.
For the moment, he said, plantain producers are interested in the domestic market, as other states export their production to the United States.
He said: "We are currently suffering the consequences of the two or three days of low temperatures we experienced in 2016, which turned the plantain brownish. As a result, this year they had no success in the markets, we had to sell them very cheap to have a profit," he said.
He also stated that he had presented his report on the work he performed as president of the Plantain Association yesterday, and that the results he had obtained in his term had been positive for the the member's of the association, as they had landed various federal programs for the plantain producers.
Source: diarioelmartinense.com.mx