The export of blueberries, as well as red pitahaya, another product that Nobis Fruit Company is counting on, is becoming attractive for Ecuador. Between one and two tons of blueberries are sent to the international market per week. Europe and South Asia are the main destinations, according to company CEO Luis Ponce.
The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong are the markets where the blueberries are reaching, and they hope to include new countries, such as China, South Korea and the USA. “We have been exporting since the beginning of the year, we move between one and two tons per week, we will end the year with about 200,000, 300,000 dollars of blueberry exports to those destinations”, he comments.
The first harvest of the Nobis agro-export trust will be obtained from ten hectares of blueberries in Patate
According to Ponce, 10 percent of blueberry production is exported and the rest is marketed domestically.
The plans also include expanding to the European market, where the Netherlands is the main destination, “because it reaches that country and is distributed to the rest of Europe, but yes, our intention is to reach as many countries as possible.” .
As for Asia, where the best pay is, according to Ponce, he points out that he is waiting to see what will happen with the trade agreement with China, because they also want to position the product in that market, and something similar is happening with South Korea. “Representatives of companies from China have already been to our fields, they have tasted our fruit and they are waiting for the same, for the free trade agreement to come out so that they can start exporting directly,” he says.
How are the processes of Ecuador’s trade agreements with South Korea, China and Costa Rica progressing?
The trade agreement with China was signed last May, and the Constitutional Court is expected to issue a new ruling in mid-October. In the meantime, the pre-signing of the agreement with South Korea will take place, which was planned these days during the visit of President Guillermo Lasso to Seoul, but due to the latest murders in the prison in Guayaquil, the trip to that Asian country was interrupted. .
Recruiting and exporting to the US
Blueberry production also contributed to job creation. The manager of the Nobis Fruit company, Luis Ponce, states that in the projects they are implementing, they directly employ 100 people, and at the end of the project, between 2024 and 2025, they expect to employ around 500 people, and indirectly that number would be twice as much.
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Until 2024-2025. they plan to double the number of hectares they currently have and start sea exports, especially to the United States market.
Blueberries are mainly grown in the Sierra, because of the climate. “We are in the province of Tungurahua, in the central Sierra. Blueberries in Ecuador are produced throughout the Sierra, mainly in Pichincha, Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, Tungurahua and Loja.”
A project aimed at producing value-added strawberries and blueberries and artisanal wine, in Azuay, was presented
Although most of the production takes place in the Sierra, he comments that some of the initiatives that other groups are doing are also taking place on the coast. “You have to look closely at the quality and varieties of fruit to be able to make quantities, but generally we produce specific varieties for clients who demand quality over quantity,” he claims.
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In addition to blueberry cultivation, Ponce indicates that Nobis Fruit Company is also betting on other products such as ginger, child bananas and red pitahaya. With the latter, they are reaching the United States, where 90%, 95% of the country’s red pitahaya comes from, but they are also “very excited” to open up the market in Europe.
“Red pitahaya is the fruit that really had the largest export in the country. We do this on the basis of studies that enable us to make that investment. We believe that the growth will continue without problems in the coming years, for about another five years, our intention is to open new markets with this fruit and basically have 10% of the total export market for pitahaya,” he says.
Source: Eluniverso
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