Fresh fruit - Import export

Productinformation The dragonfruit, also called pitaya or pitahaya, originated from the South American forest cactus (hy-locereus monacanthus). Pitayas can either be red or yellow. The red pitaya has white fruit pulp with many small black pits. After harvest, the pitayas are dried in slices. A total of 90 kilos of fresh fruit are required for the production of 1 kilo of dried dragonfruit slices. The taste is reminiscent of kiwis; it is sweet but complemented by a hint of dried figs. Origin Dragonfruit are pressure-sensitive and therefore easily damaged during transport. Thailand exports this fruit by air the entire year around. Nicaragua, China, Vietnam and Israel also grow dragonfruit.

Productinformation Peas are harvested throughout september and october in California, whereas in South Africa harvest time is around february and march. It is important to harvest them shortly before becoming fully ripe, because they would be too soft for further processing. Directly afterwards they get shockfrosted, cut in half – and dried as mottled pieces. The unfumigated fruits are better in terms of taste as the fumigated ones, as they have a degree of moisture up to eighteen percent. Nevertheless the unfumigated product is more expensive, mainly because more fresh fruits need to be applied for production. Moreover, the drying process takes longer, which lets them loose more weight. Origin The main pear-exporting countries are South Africa, Argentina and China.