strong consumer-led demand in Europe and the US according to a press release.
With the season’s first volumes of organic pineapples now arriving from Costa Rica in Europe, the Netherlands-based company believes the outstanding quality of the fruit will help the repeat the success of bananas, potatoes and carrots in the organic category.
Henk Zoutewelle, Eosta's product manager for pineapples, believes demand for organic pineapples is likely to be boosted by high volumes of excellent quality fruit from Costa Rica.
“Overall, there’s strong demand for organic pineapples in not just the fresh market, but also in the juice and IQF (Individual Quick Freezing) segments, both in Europe and the US, which is leading to an increase in the number of growers producing organic pineapples in Costa Rica,” he says.
Although European organic pineapple sales are currently under 5 % of the total market, Zoutewelle says there is good reason for believing they can replicate the sales success of products such as organic carrots, potatoes and bananas (which account for more than 10 % of total sales). “If consumers buying these products start buying organic pineapples as well, there is a nice opportunity for us,” he explains.
“Costa Rican organic pineapples are very important for us, not just because they are the best available in the world, but also because they prove that producing organic pineapples is possible – something that many people said could not be done.
“These pineapples have a very positive influence on the health of the workers, the environment and water, and conventional pineapple farms are now using this experience to improve their sustainability, so this is a great spin-off.”
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