Importation of Tainung-variety papayas is going strong this spring.

Marketing this variety, which is botanically classified as the Carica papaya, is a year-round opportunity, according to Mirna Skinner, CEO of Wyco Produce, located in Tampa, FL. On April 10, she tells FreshFruitPortal.com that her firm is the United States’ second-largest papaya importer on the East Coast.

Wyco handles the Kaya Paya Papaya label, which is grown in Petén, which is in north central Guatemala.

The company mostly distributes Kaya Paya to retailers along the U.S. East Coast. It is popular with Hispanic, Asian, and Middle Eastern ethnic groups. Asians tend to use unripened (green) fruit in salads and other dishes. Hispanics mostly consume the variety when it is sweet and ripe.

The fruit does not ripen evenly but matures with a sweet taste when it is about 50 percent yellow.

Guatemala’s Tainung production has been good this year, despite some weather issues.

Skinner describes the variety as sweet and green-skinned, without the pungent odor of Maradol.

Except for a January dip in production, the variety is typically available throughout the year. 

On average, Wyco receives eight to twelve containers a week into the Port of Miami.

Wyco has also started importing Hass avocados from Mexico and is growing the program rapidly with their grower in Mexico. They have also been importing cucumbers and squash for several years. 

In the domestic market, Wyco handles North Carolina vegetables including green beans, yellow and green squash, cabbage and corn in the spring and fall.