Algarve – a tropical fruit paradise

He began with bananas – a crop he still maintains today, and then, in spite of scepticism from the authorities, ventured into more exotic realms: experimenting with papaia, avocado, passion fruit, mangoes, and starfruit (Averrhoa carambola, the decorative edible fruit normally imported from Malaysia and sold in upmarket supermarkets).

Over the years, this tropical fruit enthusiast invested in modern greenhouses and watched his hobby fill a niche with very little national competition.

Nonetheless, he likes to stay discreet (indeed, he’s asked us not to name him) and just puts a small label on his produce: “Fruta do Algarve - Maturação natural” (fruit of the Algarve, natural ripening). The last part referring to the fact that the fruit stays on the tree until (almost) the moment it’s ready, and mature enough to be consumed.

His papayas and bananas are almost all grown for the regional market – little greengrocers and local supermarkets. Indeed, his bananas are almost sold out already as consumers prefer them to imports from Colombia and Equador.

The rest of his crops have more defined cycles and destinations. For example, his mangoes start being harvested in July, and their season continues until December. On average, each mango weighs over 250 grams, and the majority go to the Lisbon market (MARL). His avocados go to Malaga, and their harvest begins in October, ending in March/ April. Their destiny is not just as food but for Spain’s cosmetic sector as well – while his passion fruit stay on national territory. This year, our anonymous producer hopes to harvest thousands of kilos of them, starting next month.

Summing up these recent years, the farmer tells us that his major headache in the whole process has always been his tax bill…

Intriguingly, only a few months ago in January 2011, a study by OMAIAA (the farming market and importation of farm produce observatory) showed that “the Portuguese are attracted by exotic fruit”, and that in the last 10 years, the sector that deals with its importation is “highly deficient”, with the country paying more and more for fruit purchased from other countries.

In conclusion, the study advised the Portuguese state “to introduce more incentives to production, transformation, commercialisation and distribution” that would “encourage regional, local and traditional producers” into the tropical fruit market.So what happened? Didn’t anyone listen to them?