Yellow Pitahaya from Ecuador: Lower Production in 2019 But Increasing Global Demand

Yellow pitahaya, also known as yellow dragon fruit, is mainly grown in Latin America, specifically in Ecuador. Ecuador is famous for the yellow version of dragon fruit, as the Ecuadorian pitahaya is sweeter than its red counterpart. Pitahayas are mainly eaten in Asia and Latin America, but their popularity is growing rapidly in Europe and North America as well.

The best quality pitahayas come from the region of Palora, which is located in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest. The soil in this region is markedly different than the soil near the more populated areas, which makes pitahayas from this region taste better. For this reason, the National Intellectual Rights Service of Ecuador has granted the certificate of denomination of origin to the Amazonian pitahaya from Palora, protecting the fruits from this region from falsification.

Lower Production During the Early Season

One of the largest yellow dragon fruit producers in Palora is Ecuafields. The company has been producing and exporting pitahayas to North America and Asia for several years. Ecuafields has multiple fields for pitahayas, which are being kept and harvested by local indigenous people. It takes around 1.5 to 2 years before pitahaya trees will bear fruit, but once the trees have matured, the season for pitahayas is quite long. Between September to November, the early fruits are harvested. The high season is between December and May.

In general, the total production of pitahayas in Ecuador and Palora is rising. In 2018, 12 million kg of yellow dragon fruits were produced in Palora, which generates around 30 million USD annually for the region. However, according to Gabriela Vallejo from Ecuafields, the production this year will most likely be lower than last year. Although the season has only just started, the company can estimate the number of fruits the tree will bear by counting the number of flowers the tree has during the flowering period. Due to colder than average weather, the number of flowers for the early fruits was significantly lower than last year.

Despite this expected decrease in harvest, Vallejo is still positive about the total production this season. If the temperature picks up, the harvest during the high season would be on par with last year’s harvest.

High Demand for Ecuadorian Pitahayas

The demand for yellow dragon fruit is rising every year. This is mainly due to more product awareness in the North American and European markets. Ecuafields hopes that the export to China will open up soon as well. The yellow pitahaya is popular among Asian customers mainly due to its many health benefits. Countries such as Colombia and Vietnam also export dragon fruit. However, both countries do not compete directly with Ecuador due to different seasonality and different varieties.

Due to the expected lower supply this season, the price for yellow dragon fruits will increase slightly this season. The yellow dragon fruit is often higher-priced than other tropical fruits as it is not widely produced, but very highly demanded. Vallejo thinks that the price increase will not significantly affect exports.

Ecuafields will be present at PMA Fresh Summit in Anaheim, California USA from October 17 to October 19.