Granadilla has always had good prices in the markets. That's why production increased from 18,000 tons in 2,400 hectares to 50,000 tons in 5,800 hectares in the last 10 years.
The data is provided by William Daga, a specialist in fruit trees at the General Agricultural Directorate of Minagri. According to Daga, the largest production areas are Villa Rica (Pasco), Monobamba (Junin), Huanuco, La Libertad, and Amazonas. However, despite the boom, the export volume is very small.
"Everything goes to the local market. Exports amount to nearly 50 thousand dollars. That's too small, it represents almost 1 percent of the production, nothing more. There is a market, Colombia and Ecuador have stopped cultivating this crop because they have other passion plants that have better prices; it is a market for a product that people already know and Peru can take advantage of it," he said.
The country needs to improve the quality of its granadillas to take advantage of their potential, he said. Producers are selling a product that has a soft and stained skin, which reveals there has been a very poor handling of the harvest, both in the nutrition of the crop and in the manipulation of the fruit. This also decreases prices in the domestic market. The country needs to improve the quality of this fruit to increase exports and decongest the local market.
"A kilo of granadilla costs more than 10 dollars in Brazil. We have sent it to the market in Manaus and they have sold it at that price. It can be sold for more than 40 soles, it's worth it. However, we have to take it step by step. Currently the fruit is not very good and only 4 to 5 percent of what has been harvested can be exported. The fruit is in bad conditions, so only 1 percent of that 4 percent is shipped out," he added.
William Daga said producers needed to change their mentality, as they currently are only interested in selling all of their production, without classifying the fruit in quality groups for export, and premium and extra premium varieties for the local market, which would allow them to negotiate the fruit in separate lots and obtain more profits.
Source: agraria.pe