The sweet cucumber from Carchi lands in the supermarkets of the EU and the United States

The exportable basket is trying to expand with non-traditional products

Being able to sell a little-known fruit in another international market is not a simple matter. It requires patience, effort and strategies to first convince the potential buyer who will put the product on the hangers of his business.

The task involves sending samples of the fruit for tastings, explaining its properties and even teaching how it is eaten or prepared. Part of that work fell toAlexandra Pisuña and Geff Endarato ensure that sweet cucumber can enter Spanish supermarkets.

These Ecuadorians residing in Madrid work withHe trembleda national company that has begun to ship this non-traditional fruit to the European Union.

TheFruit is shipped by air in 3-kilo boxes containing 12 units.Pitavit purchases the product from farmers inthe Julio Andrade parish (Carchi).

The load with sweet cucumber is exported together with other fruits that this firm markets and that total 22 pallets per week. It is a selected fruit that comes out as premium in a black package.

Alejandra Vallejo, commercial manager of Pitavit,He points out that it has taken them about two months to finalize the first shipments of this non-traditional product to Europe.

This fleshy fruit, rich in water and fiber, can weigh about 120 grams and grow to a size larger than an orange. It has diuretic properties and has vitamin A and C.

Once the sweet cucumber arrives in Spain, a part is also sent to Portugal and France.

Vallejo points out that Pisuña and EndaraThey have been key to promoting this fruit in the Spanish market and being able to find a space in the supermarkets of the main chains.

Carchi is one of the sweet cucumber production centers. TheLos Andes parish, which is in the jurisdiction of the Bolívar canton, also registers plantations of this fruit of Andean origin.

Part of the production that is harvested in that population left this year for the United States. In January a sample of 300 kilograms was sent to that market and in February a shipment of 600 kilos was sent.

of the plantationÉdison Mejía, a small producer from the Bolívar canton,This exportable cargo came out, whose management received support from theDepartment of agriculture.

To grow this fruit, farmers are betting on the use of a lot of organic matter and proper management to improve quality. The idea is that the product is free of agrochemicals and can be consumed as a fresh fruit.

The sweet cucumber is yellow in color with purple stripes when it begins to ripen.

Carchi has incorporated sweet cucumber into its exportable supply and is looking for this product to be accepted in other markets.

Earlier this month, Governor Óscar Ruano met with theUnited States Ambassador Michael J. Fitzpatrick, to show Carchense products, among which are sweet cucumbers, granadillas, fresh and mature cheeses, handicrafts, mango, among others.

Opportunities for naranjilla, tree tomato and soursop

Nostalgia for the products used in Ecuadorian cuisine makes migrants in Europe look for certain ingredients to prepare their dishes, such asnaranjilla and tree tomato.But the Spanish are also becoming interested in supermarkets for this type of product that comes from Ecuador.

Alejandra Vallejo, commercial manager of Pitavit, points out that these two products, like thegranadilla and soursop,are having opportunities in markets such as Spanish.

He points out that Ecuadorians residing in that nation have helped these products also penetrate homes in Spain.

Pitavit includes volumes of these products in its weekly shipments. "The naranjilla, sweet cucumber and soursop have had the best start," says Vallejo.

Apart from Spain, Pitavit is seeking to reachsoursopto Asian countries such as Malaysia. Last September they sent a first batch of this fruit.

Vallejo assures that during this pandemic fruits have been in good demand because they are consumed a lot in homes that have gone through periods of confinement.