The West African country of Benin has a fairly large pineapple production, but exports very little. Armanda Chogolou, CEO of Armacar Eagle Agro Business, says she hopes that Beninese pineapples will conquer more markets.
Chogolou explains: "We grow two varieties of pineapple in Benin, the Sugar Loaf variety, which has an elongated bottle shape, yellow skin, and sweet white interior, and weighs from 1 to 13 kg. The second variety is the smooth Cayenne, which has a round shape, yellowish, fibrous skin, and is sweet regardless of coloring, with sizes ranging from 1 to 17 kg."
The grower continues: "We grow pineapples all year round, with harvests every eight months when the fruit is well treated. On my farm, most of our production is destined for export."
In Benin, conventional pineapples have overtaken organic pineapples due to demand: "We've now reached a distribution of 80% conventional pineapples versus 20% organic pineapples. Organic ones are sweeter and just a little more expensive than conventional, but the demand is obviously always right," explains Chogolou.
The grower hopes to open up new markets in Europe. She says, 'We're working with customers in France and everything's going well. It's easy to provide phytosanitary certificates. The treatment of our fruit, whether it's against pests or for coloration, according to the customer's needs, complies with European standards. We'd like to work with customers in Turkey, Spain, and the Nordic countries."
In addition to the European market, the West African market is also interesting, explains Chogolou: "Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso and Senegal are proximity markets with a strong demand for exotic fruits. What's interesting about these markets is the possibility of bulk delivery."
According to FAO Stat figures, Benin produced 470 thousand tonnes of pineapple in 2022, with an upward trend over the last ten years. However, exports represent only a small volume. Chogolou says, "We want to change this and export more, and our biggest argument is the much more competitive price than other origins."
The exporter concludes, "We convinced several importers at the last Fruit Attraction fair, and are in the process of finalizing deals. We also export fresh peanuts, sweet potatoes, yams, and herbs."
For more information:
Armanda Chogolou
AEAB
Tel : + 229 99 91 49 18 / + 229 96 76 34 33
Email: [email protected]