The pitaya season in the Spanish region of Andalusia will start late this year compared to previous campaigns, but with a notable growth in the acreage and an increasingly international commercial projection, according to Alberto Garrocho, president of the international cooperative S.C.A. Pitahayas de Andalucía.
"To date, we have accumulated a delay of around two weeks compared to last season due to the lack of sunshine in March and April. This instability in the spring months has, in fact, taken a toll on all crops, not just pitaya, and caused many harvests to be delayed," says Alberto.
"In our case, while last year we started to see flower buds around May 20, this year they are starting to sprout now, so we expect to start harvesting the first small volumes of pitayas at the end of this month."
Since pitaya flowers are only now starting to bud and the pollination has yet to happen, it is still too early to predict a production figure, although a noticeable increase is expected, given the expansion of the acreage among Pitahayas de Andalucía's partners. "This year we have once again seen an increase in both the number of members and the number of hectares, which have grown by 20%, so we are expecting the volume of fruit available for the European market to grow," says Alberto.
"It is worth noting that most of the new hectares are located in the Huelva area, where pitaya has become a very interesting complementary crop to berries, as it is a very tough plant, with great flexibility to grow in any type of soil without any problems, so it adapts very well to areas that are not ideal for growing strawberries, raspberries or blueberries," says Alberto.
The work carried out by Spanish and Portuguese partners of S.C.A. Pitahayas de Andalucía to market their exotic fruit has allowed Andalusian pitaya to become a strongly export-oriented product. "We already sell our pitayas directly to large supermarkets, reaching chains and clients in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the UK, and this year we will also start working with France," says Alberto. "Interest in this fruit continues to grow and, in fact, many clients are already calling us to find out when we are going to start, because they are looking forward to receiving our pitayas."
For more information:
S.C.A. Pitayas de Andalucía
Tel.: +34 609 38 68 86
administración@pitayasdeandalucía.com
https://pitayasdeandalucia.es/
