Blueberries and Cape gooseberries have grown in popularity in the Costa Rican market over the past five years, both for fresh consumption and as part of processed products.
According to data provided by the Foreign Trade Corporation of Costa Rica (Procomer), import volumes of these fruits between 2009 and 2013 almost multiplied by five.
Blueberries are mostly imported from Chile, the United States and Peru, while Cape gooseberries are locally produced.
Their popularity is mainly due to their medicinal and nutritional properties and their high vitamin C content, making them useful in tackling certain illnesses.
There are experimental projects for both fruits aimed at promoting their domestic cultivation and improving their characteristics.
Vivian Fonseca, executive of Automercado's marketing department, confirmed that blueberry sales have experienced a steady increase over the past three years, which has led to the product becoming permanently available.
The Experimental Station Fabio Baudrit Moreno, of the University of Costa Rica (UCR), is carrying out the project "Genetic improvement of fruit bearing plants for Costa Rica's high-altitude areas" with the goal of promoting the domestic production of certain fruits, including blueberries.
Its coordinator, Patricia Quesada, explained that this fruit is currently one of the most promising crops, with the best results of the project so far.
The initiative started two years ago, and during that time, the country's currently present varieties have been studied in terms of adaptation and productive capacity.
For the past two years, several other varieties have been imported from the United States for them to be tested under Costa Rica's weather conditions.
"The increase in consumption of products with high antioxidant content is a worldwide trend, as health has become one of the people's main concerns," concluded Quesada.
Source: Elfinancierocr.com
