Ecuadorian granadilla, passion fruit, pitahaya (variety Palora), and sweet cucumber entered Russia and are being marketed by Food City, one of the most important wholesale markets in that country.
The fruits were produced by the Ecuadorian company ORGANPIT and were exported through two air shipments made in February and March 2018. PRO ECUADOR provided support to make the shipments.
The manager of the company, Byron Ortiz, said that the exotic fruits from Ecuador were increasingly more and more appealing in important destinations, such as Russia. He also said PRO ECUADOR's work "has been very important because it allowed us to know and access new markets, such as Asia, Europe, and the United States, where we have a giant potential to develop new projects."
Jomara Masache, the director of PRO ECUADOR's commercial office in Moscow, said that one of the peculiarities of these shipments was that the yellow pitahaya of the Palora variety was a new fruit among Russian consumers, and that the importer had ratified its intention to promote the consumption of this unique product.
According to data from the Central Bank of Ecuador, in 2017 Ecuador exported 1,811 tons of pitahaya for USD 11.91 million. So far in 2018, the country has exported 561 tons worth USD 3.49 million.
Source: PRO ECUADOR, Central Bank of Ecuador