Ecuador’s dragon fruit gains access to Chinese market

A protocol has been agreed to allow Ecuador to export its dragon fruit to China, which was one of the goals of the visit made by president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, to China at the end of January.
Francisco Ortega of the Ecuador Exporters Guild said:

“We are very pleased with this new agreement. We expect to fly the first yellow dragon fruit from Ecuador to China in the first week of June. Ecuador has enormous potential. We can supply a huge volume of dragon fruit all year round. Ecuador is currently finishing up the last work that will help the Ecuador dragon fruit industry meet the quarantine and inspection requirements for the Chinese market.”
“Our first dragon fruit for the Chinese market will arrive via air freight. Afterwards we will analyse the possibilities of sea freight. We have to be able to guarantee high product quality, beautiful appearance, vivid colours, and suitable size. Our dragon fruit growers also have BPA and GLOBALG.A.P. certification. That is how we guarantee sustained trade in the future.”

Ecuador produces red and yellow dragon fruit. The overall surface area devoted to red dragon fruit is expected to expand to 3,000 hectares by 2027, while the overall surface area devoted to yellow dragon fruit is expected to expand to 6,042 hectares. The production volume is estimated at 60 million tons, of which 70% is destined for the export market.