As a result of this climatic variation in the Ecuadorian Amazon, producers expect the next harvest season will be more productive. The rains have decreased and, as there is more sun, the flowers have begun to bloom. According to producers, if the weather is good in July and August, they will have a good harvest in December. "We'll start a small harvest within 15 days to meet the current requirements of Asia. Consumers in that continent like the Ecuadorian fruit very much; both for its flavor and size. Thus, demand is growing. Normally, we could produce more than 40 tons per week, but we don't have fruit available right now,"said Ortiz.
"We started selling our fruits in Asia 5 years ago, in Singapore, where Colombia was highly positioned. Now that market prefers the Ecuadorian variety and only buy Colombian fruit when we have no fruit, so the competition we have with Colombia is very differentiated. Many sectors prefer the Ecuadorian pitahaya because of its attractive export features. It has a thicker skin, so its post-harvest life lasts more than 20 days, twice than the Colombian fruit, making it very interesting for importers. We managed to cover a lot of market after many importers discovered this difference, and Colombians have been affected, "said the representative.
Organpit's next goal is opening new markets, such as England and Dubai, and they have already started sending test samples to this markets. "We are in process of introducing our fruit in other countries, but it is a process that takes time, as these new markets are used to consuming Colombian fruit, which is smaller and less sweet than ours. Consumers needs to get used to the taste and shape," he concluded.
