Andalusia: World's biggest cherimoya supplier

In Andalusia, around 40,000 tonnes of cherimoyas are grown annually at the moment, on an acreage of 3,000 hectares. The revenues made here are almost 48 million Euro, website agronoticias.es reports. The main cultivation areas are the provinces of Granada and Málaga.

When it comes to consumption, cherimoyas are reportedly unknown by four in ten Spanish individuals, says Elena Viboras, the region's minister of Agriculture. The annual consumption per capita doesn't even amount to 1 kg. In Andalusia, however, the quantity is higher: 2 kg per person. "The Andalusian companies have a lot of work to do to get more publicity for cherimoyas on national and European markets, and to generate more income," Viboras says.

Although cherimoyas taste good and are very healthy, their acreage has steadily decreased since the mid-nineties. This is partly because the return for growers has become smaller and smaller due to high production costs and low yields. Between 85 and 90 percent of the harvest is sold on the Spanish domestic market. The rest is exported, with the main buyers being Portugal, Great Britain, France and Germany.