Agribusiness company Gandules, plans to export 46,750 tonnes of peppers this year, according to its Chief Executive Officer, John Varilias Velasquez. He indicated that the company cultivated 850 hectares of peppers (adding the two campaigns that takes a year), with an average yield of 55 tonnes per hectare. He clarified that the company exported 100% of their production.
"The 850 hectares of peppers are divided into two groups: sweet peppers and spicy peppers. The first group is the one we cultivate the most because it's what the market demands the most, it represents between 70% and 80% of our sales," he said.
In this regard, he said, Gandules produces 6 varieties of sweet peppers. Among these, the bell pepper has the greatest demand. The company also produces 3 different varieties of spicy peppers, from which the jalapeño pepper is their most important variety.
Juan Varilias said that, this year, pepper exports would reach 42 countries on five continents, either by direct or indirect shipments, as some countries, such as The Netherlands, distributed their peppers to other countries.
He also stressed that the consumption of peppers was increasing in the world, so Gandules could increase production. "We will increase our supply according to demand because, as it is obvious, agricultural production plans are done with the sales that are made in advance. So we will make our plans for 2014 this end of the month and the first week of December; then we'll see if we will increase the area of our pepper crops," he said.