The Association of Small Producers of Organic Bananas, Saman and Annexes (Appbosa), which mainly sends its production to Europe, the United States, and Canada, started shipping its products to Korea in February, as part of their growth strategy in Asia.
Ronald Garrido, general manager of the organization, said that their goal was to export a container with 20 tons of product every week during this year, and then gradually increase.
"Appbosa's plan is to enter new markets in Asia in the next few years, such as Japan, where the association has already made trial shipments," he said.
Expectations
According to Garrido, Appbosa managed to export about one million boxes of organic bananas in 2016, a volume they might surpass this year, despite the rains of the first quarter that affected logistics and slowed the production's pace.
"It was impossible to take the fruit to the collection center because of the rains. However, the goal is to send 16 to 18 containers a week this year," he said.
He said that to achieve keeping a near to 10% share of the organic banana market this year, they would increase their baler's capacity by 5%, thanks to extensions and the implementation of a system to optimize moving the fruit.
New lines
At the moment, Appbosa's plan is to focus on fresh fruits, however, within a year or two, they could assess working with higher value-added products, such as mashed or preserved organic bananas, Garrido said.
Data
Appbosa has 650 hectares of organic banana, but in two years it could have 800 hectares.
The banana-producing companies exported some US $ 151.6 million in 2016.
Source: Gestion