Ciego de Avila's agricultural pole expanded its products for export portfolio to more than a dozen products with the first shipments of fresh mangoes to Europe, which will benefit the country's economy.

These shipments will be followed by others until reaching 20 initial tons, from the 30 C farm, collective Marseille, belonging to the Frutales Ceballos basic business unit (UEB), which has a vast experience in other exportable items, in line with the call made by Cuban President, Miguel Díaz-Canel, to generalize good practices in a key sector for the Cuban economy.

The country's productions with greater acceptance in European and the Middle Eastern countries are: marabou charcoal, MD-2 pineapple, citrus and fruit aseptic juices, sulphited papaya, and habanero pepper, among others. The habanero pepper was awarded with a Gold Medal for quality at the International Agricultural Fair 2019, one of the leading commercial spaces in the region.

The mango varieties sent to other latitudes are the Tommy Atkins and Super Haden on Heart pattern, which are given a careful cultural attention, with the application of different types of pruning, including the panicles, to avoid mechanical damage by friction between fruits.

Odalis Burgos Hernandez, one of the beneficiaries of the UEB Acopio y Mercado de Frutas, said that the mango's packaging had a high quality, in line with the demands of the international market.

Engineer Pilar Ruiz Gonzalez, the head of external quarantine of the Department of Plant Health in the province, said they had intensified their phytosanitary control work in the plantations to ensure the crops were free of pests and diseases.

In May of last year, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez highlighted the work being done in the Ceballos Agroindustrial Company, in Ciego de Avila, which has managed have a marked increase in exports.

Source: granma.cu