In 2016, guava from Carlópolis won the Geographical Indication (IG) seal.
The GI of Carlópolis applies to guava from two municipalities in Paraná: Carlópolis and Ribeirão Claro. Today, 36 fruit growers are associated with Cooperativa Agroindustrial de Carlópolis and ten of them already have the IG seal.
Within the country, sales grew 50% in two years, when comparing the first half of 2022 to the first half of 2020.
However, the biggest highlight was abroad, as exports grew 1142%, a jump from 5.2 tonnes from January to June 2020 to 65.2 tonnes in the same period this year. England, Portugal, Canada and the Middle East are the main destinations according to abrafrutas.org
The sales manager of Cooperativa Agroindustrial de Carlópolis and also a certified guava producer, Inês Sasaki, has participated in international fairs. “I went to Spain. And we took our guava. Everyone was amazed at the quality we have,” she is proud to say.
Factors which differentiate the guava from Carlópolis are the thickness of the peel and the size of the fruit. According to certified producer Rodrigo Viana, the crunchiness of the product comes from the thicker skin that allows, among other things, longer transport time, better marketing, more space on the market shelf and more resistance.
Viana adds that the guava variety grown in this GI can weigh an average of 500 grams or more and that, due to its size, it is considered a 'table' guava.
The great interest in exports is justified by the fact that the foreign market stipulates a fixed price for the fruit that is higher than the domestic market, which, moreover, fluctuates over the months.
“In January and February the price within Brazil was around R$2, in March it dropped to R$1, in April R$1.50, from May the price improved and fluctuated between R$2 and R$ 3, until in August it reached R$ 4.50; while abroad it was sold for R$ 4, from January to August, without any variation”, explains the sales manager of Cooperativa Agroindustrial de Carlópolis, Inês Sasaki.