“We did it,” Carlos Velasco, buyer of organic tropical fruits for Eosta, says enthusiastically. The company started importing Colombian granadillas, and these are not flown in, but they are transported by ship. “Our customers care about the environment, and do not really accept aircraft trade. Even though we export less than 0.5 per cent by air freight, it feels like a victory when we manage to switch to boat transportation.”
“For certain mango strains it is still impossible to import by sea. For the granadillas we had to move heaven and earth, but we are very pleased with the result,” Velasco says. “We already receive passion fruits from the same supplier, and we are now starting one hectare of organic granadillas as a test. Granadillas belong to the passiflora family, and have a hard yellow or orange rind. The flavour of the granadillas is comparable to that of passion fruit, but tends to be slightly more sour-sweet. We deliberately started small, because we want to deliver continuity in volume and quality first. In Colombia there are, so to speak, four season in one day, so you must learn to produce the same quality year-round.”
“Besides, I would not know what to do with full containers of granadillas now. These tropical fruits are not on consumers’ shopping lists, and are, at first, an impulse purchase. Only after the consumer starts recognising the product and quality is consistent, will repeat purchases follow. You have to start somewhere, but look at what it has led to by now. We once started with air freight of organic pineapples and coconuts. We sell organic tropical fruits all over Europe. Germany and Scandinavia are important organic markets, but France also has much potential in the field of organic. The organic market in the UK might be growing slower than in other countries, but there is a large future there for organic. Moreover, demand for tropical fruits is increasing. They truly are the products of the future.”
For more information:
Carlos Velasco
Eosta
Tel: +31 (0) 180-63 55 45
Carlos.Velasco@eosta.com
www.eosta.com