The avocado, both for local consumption and for export, is emerging as one of the big winners for the industry, as it has a high international demand. The market is dominated by the producing countries, such as Mexico, Chile, and Peru.
Since 2002, the demand for fruit has grown by 250% in the United States, and in the last three years it has increased by 20% a year in Europe, which offers local producers a window of opportunity.
At present, only six firms export fresh and processed avocado to Europe and Canada, and there is a deficit in the local market. This fruit’s cycle of cultivation goes from November to June of each year.
Extension
Francisco Viteri, the general manager of the Popoyan agricultural producing company, said that the crop was currently dispersed, as the country didn’t have an agricultural business chain or national policy for avocados.
According to this company’s estimates, there are about seven thousand hectares of avocado crops and almost 1,050 hectares of technified cultivation. The idea, said the producer, is to increase the area in the next five years from 10 thousand to 20 thousand hectares of crops.
“There is an extension of land that is not being produced and the avocado can be one of the production alternatives by guaranteeing the the implementation of technology and its commercialization," he said.
Pablo Giron, the head of the National Council of Agricultural Development (Conadea) of the Ministry of Agriculture, said there were around 11,740 hectares of avocado in the country, which produce about 2,693,000 metric tons of fruit. “Production volumes are growing and Guatemala has the conditions to increase production," he said.
Transformation
Viteri said that one of the current problems was that there is no chain to improve the product’s productivity and competitiveness. There is an absence of a national policy to unify qualities, incorporate technology, and there’s also a lack of a marketing chain.
In addition, there is little investment in cultivation and a lack of access to financing programs with interest rates that are appropriate for producers. Moreover, producers can’t cover the offer.
The strategy, Viteri said, is to develop an innovative, technological and competitive sector, learning from other countries that already have mature markets and productivity tools.
"There is a business opportunity for producers to ship fresh, processed, and frozen avocado, but the challenge is to unify the industry," he said.
Source: prensalibre.com