The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala stated in a communiqué on July 14 that officials from the Guatemalan Embassy in Canada, through the Commercial Counseling, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food (MAGA), had completed the phytosanitary import requirements before the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for the admissibility of Guatemalan blueberries in the country.
Vice-Chancellor Shirley Aguilar said that they had linked Guatemalan blueberry producers with distributors that supply the main supermarkets in Canada to promote the increase of the country's exports.
One of the companies that seek to enter this market is the agro exporter Planesa. Roberto Castañeda, its president, said the company, which also produces blueberries in Mexico, currently destined its fruit for the domestic market and Central America. "Growing without having a market is a suicide, but now we'll start planning investment and production to direct it towards a large market, such as Canada, so we can start making large crop projections to export," Castañeda told Prensa Libre. Castañeda did not provide details on the company's new investments but he said that having access to the Canadian market would allow them to increase their production volume to meet demand, which would be ready in a period of 18 to 24 months.
Part of Planesa's strategy is to export the blueberries from Guatemala and Mexico by land (truck) in the face of the current fuel prices, which are expensive for shipments by air and sea, the businessman concluded.
19/07/2022
