Last year the mango producers sold four million boxes in the U.S. market, generating revenues of U.S. $ 20 million for the country. As for this year a 5% increase is expected.
To achieve this goal, the Ministry of Agriculture (MAGA) with the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (Agexport), will define an export protocol with the USDA / APHIS in Guatemala, a branch of the Department of Agriculture of the U.S.
Government.
The figures show that 95% of the Guatemalan mango production is exported to the US. Considering these numbers, the six mango production plants will expand cultivation sites, to provide adequate supply for the demand of US buyers.
"The agricultural sector generates about 5 thousand direct jobs and 40 thousand indirect jobs," said Carmen Sandoval, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, commenting on the benefits that this product provides for the country.
Surveillance.
Due to regulations and quality standards required by the Department of Agriculture of the United States for the entry of agricultural products, Guatemalan mango producers have increased the technical mechanisms for selecting the fruit. The fruit is washed and after that a thermal cleaning process is used, ie, the mangoes are cleaned by means of heat. This process removes 100% of any bacteria or bugs that the fruit might contain.
This action is monitored by the processing plants and the MAGA Inspection Program and Agricultural and Environmental Protection (PIPA). With the cleaning process, as outlined above, the fruit is provided adequately to the American buyers, since it fills all required quality standards.
Cultivation area.
It is estimated that currently in Guatemala there are about 6 thousand hectares of mango cultivation, according to the census conducted last year by Profruta. Of this amount 94% is exported to the United States and 6% to Europe.
Source: guatemala-times.com
Publication date: 1/22/2009
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