The National Health and Food Safety Service (Senasa) stated at a meeting that, day by day, the eggplants grown in Honduras were improving their positioning in the United States market, where they are considered a star product.
The meeting took place at the Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock (SAG), and was attended by the USDA/USAID's regional sanitary and phytosanitary measures coordinator, Daniel Orellana; the agricultural specialist at the US Embassy in Honduras, Ana Gomez; the Deputy Director of Agricultural Food Safety, Mirian Bueno; and the Deputy Director of Plant Protection, Curt Schumacher.
The meeting was aimed at creating a strategic plan to further strengthen this sector and to create a public-private partnership with the support of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Senasa and agricultural exporters.
The head of Senasa's fruits and vegetables sector, Juan Carlos Paguada, said the goal was to achieve a better result in safety and phytosanitary issues. "We grow 14 varieties of oriental vegetables, the most exported of which is the eggplant. It is very desired by American consumers and achieved first place among the diversification of products," Paguada said.
He went on to say that "official technicians continue to work in a coordinated manner and are ready to provide any kind of help that agricultural exporters need to improve their production and productivity."
"The purpose is to comply with national legislation, market regulations, and with our commercial partners in the United States, where eggplant has positioned itself as a star product."
The biggest eggplant cultivation area is Comayagua, which also grows other vegetables, such as chives, hairy cucumber, squash, and okra. The main destinations for these vegetables are the United States and Italy.
There are about 15 processing plants dedicated to processing and exporting this products, which generate more direct and indirect jobs.
The American cities that consume these products the most are Miami, Boston, Detroit, New York, and Baltimore. The top buyers, however, are Asian companies, such as Joco Produce, Double Green, Caribbean Fruits, Vannas, and Tropical Fruits.
Source: latribuna.hn