Uruguay is still betting on placing kakis in the European Union in the counter season. This exotic fruit, which is originally from Asia and began to be produced on a commercial scale in the Uruguayan market more than 10 years ago, is gaining consumers.
Augusto Corallo, the general manager of Fruticola Libertad, said they had been unable to export Uruguayan kakis to Europe, where they have been increasingly sending more volumes, this year because the plantations and the fruit had been damaged by hail. "Next year, we expect to double the 60 tons we exported last year," he said.
According to Corallo, the production of kakis from Uruguay is mainly placed in the Netherlands, but the company intends to export its fruit to the United Kingdom, Spain, or France. Kaki consumption is deeply rooted in the consumers diet in the countries of the European Union.
"Our export volume increases every year We've been working with kaki for more than seven years, we have learned about the tree's productive process as we grew them and we believe that we are still learning," he said.
That is why the company permanently receives advisers from the European Union who support them with their production and harvest, the goal is to improve productivity per hectare and bet on quality, the executive said.
The price of kaki in the European market fluctuates depending on the production and the demand, but prices are lower than those of apple or other more traditional fruits. "It's a much more stable product," Corallo said.
Fruticola Libertad started to bet on this product in 2006, after its directors made a trip to the European Union and saw that consumption was growing a lot and noticed that Uruguay could arrive in that market with their products when there was no local production.
Internal market
The company also bet on finding consumers for this exotic fruit in Uruguay. "The market is growing and little by little it gains space in supermarkets. We want it to be part of people's daily diet, as if it were one more fruit, but it is different from the one in winter, such as citrus or apple," said Corallo.
The plant begins to produce after five years and then achieves its maximum productivity; it adapts very well to the climatic and productive conditions of Uruguay. Local production goes from May to September.
"After five years production could exceed 30 tons per hectare. One of the things that needs to be determined in Uruguay is the plant's useful life. In the European Union they have a useful life of eight or nine years," said the manager of Fruticola Libertad.
Source: elpais.com.uy