European papaya market looks promising

Belize’s papaya farmers met with potential European importers today in Belmopan. Importers from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium indicated they would be in a position to accept four hundred thousand pounds of fruit per week. To meet this demand, the farmers would have to increase cultivation by eight hundred forty-eight acres. At the moment, the fifteen or so papaya producers in western and northern Belize only have about two hundred fifty acres planted with the fruit, almost all of which is sold to the United States. Jose Novelo of the Trade and Investment Promotion Service says the producers are very excited about the opening up of this new market and say they intend to increase their production by five hundred acres by the start of the New Year. The producers will need some help, however, and expressed the need for affordable credit, improved transportation, well facilities and marketing assistance. TIPS says the European importers indicated that papaya is the exotic fruit with the greatest growth potential in Europe. Currently Europeans buy papayas from Brazil, Jamaica, Ghana, South Africa and the Ivory Coast.