Overexploitation of pitahaya in Ecuador puts the profitability of the crop in check

The Phyto and Zoosanitary Regulation and Control Agency (Agrocalidad) reported that until mid-year they certified 29 thousand tons of pitahaya exported to 20 destinations. Freshfruit Portal.com spoke with pitahaya producer and exporter Ramón Martínez, manager of Hacienda Laia Margarita, who commented that currently the industry had very good beginnings and the crop began to be replicated, but without having anyone to buy the fruit and that generates a desperation and want to sell at any price. Ramón Martínez, manager of Hacienda Laia Margarita. Martínez explained that many people began to plant many hectares thinking that dragon fruit had good returns of up to five dollars per kilo, “it was like having a diamond mine. So the problem is that there is more fruit than demand in the market.” “So today there is a very big problem because the same buyers in the United States know about the situation of dragon fruit in Ecuador and they also know that prices are low,” Martínez said. He ...