Representatives from Taiwan and the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) have met in order to speed up the establishment of phytosanitary protocols for trade of various exotic fruits both ways between the two countries. 

Taiwan is hoping to export fresh litchis to Colombia, while the South American country would like market access for Dragon Fruit and Cape gooseberries (also known as aguaymantos and Physalis), amongst other fruits.

The Colombian agency said the first step would be to carry out a pest risk assessment based on information sent by its Taiwanese counterpart, and Taiwan would be doing the same.

Taiwan currently exports litchis to countries such as the U.S., Chile, and Australia, while Colombia at present ships coffee to the Asian island.

Taiwanese embassy economic director Shao-Lin Hu said the Colombian market was very attractive given the growing number of products using litchis as an ingredient.

An ICA official said in a release he was optimistic Colombia would gain market access for Dragon Fruit and Cape gooseberries in Taiwan without a hitch, given his country's promising phytosanitary record.

"We hope to conclude the process with Taiwan soon in order to provide excellent commercial opportunities for our agricultural producers," ICA phytosanitary regulations manager Claudia Cabezas said.

"The Asian country is like a huge shopping mall for Colombia, but so far we've only tapped into a little bit of its market."

Photo: www.shutterstock.com

www.freshfruitportal.com