The exotic fruit market is still a niche, especially in Europe, where their high price limits consumption to certain sectors such as the Horeca (hotels, restaurants, and catering) and premium supermarket chains, mainly in Germany. However, according to María Paulina Pérez, commercial director of Caribbean Exotics, "After the pandemic, interest in the consumption of fresh and healthy fruits has grown, which represents an opportunity for the future growth of the passion fruit and physalis market".
Caribbean Exotics has more than 38 years of experience in the business and manages a stable and growing production of exotic fruits including physalis, passion fruit, granadilla, tamarillo, and yellow pitahaya, among others. Each week, the company exports 20 to 25 tons of passion fruit, and 35 to 40 tons of physalis, with growth projections for November and December, when it expects supply will increase by at least 10%. "Europe remains one of the main markets for both fruits; however, physalis is experiencing significant growth in the US market, which still has regulatory restrictions for the entry of passion," María Paulina stressed.
"Demand for these exotic fruits is especially strong in Europe during the winter months when local fruit production declines and consumers look for imported fresh produce. The passion fruit's high season coincides with November and December, after a period of pruning and waste control to comply with strict European regulations," she added.
"Climate change is one of the biggest challenges that Caribbean Exotics has to face. The alteration of the seasons affects production cycles, making it difficult to plan harvests. In addition, extreme weather conditions, such as frost and prolonged drought periods, affected last year's production and prices, significantly reducing physalis production. Another challenge is the strict quality control at the ports, where containers are inspected to prevent drug smuggling, which adds risk to exports," she said.
Production farm.
The farm's team.
"Caribbean Exotics packages physalis in biodegradable sugarcane-based packaging and its passion fruit in controlled atmosphere bags, reducing the use of plastics in its exports. It also has Global Gap and Fairtrade certifications, the latter of which guarantees that producers directly receive a 10-cent premium for each kilo exported. This allows farmers to invest in improvements to their crops, education, and living conditions," Maria Paulina stated.
"Regarding sustainable practices, the company has implemented a drip irrigation system that has reduced water consumption from 15 liters to just 3 liters a plant per day, reflecting its effort to minimize the environmental impact of its operations," she said.
Caribbean Exotics will be at the Fruit Attraction fair in Madrid, at ProColombia's stand in Hall 4, Stand 4D04.
For more information:
María Paulina Pérez
Caribbean Exotics
Colombia
Tel: +57 314 8903796
Email: [email protected]
www.caribbeanexotics.com