Sales of fruit from Guatemala are expected to rise 5.6% to US $474.6 million in 2011, a leading exporters group said, according to newspaper El Prensa Libre.

According to Marta Castañón, coordinator of the Agriculture Commission of Agexport, the sector is expected to drop about 1.6% in 2010 because of “all the natural disasters that we have confronted,” the website said. In 2009, the sector took in US $456.7 million.

In addition to the damage to the infrastructure and the proliferation of fungus, there were delays in harvesting crops at the end of the year, such as avocado and melon, she said, according to the website.

There were also fruit that had better luck, such as mangoes, which have maintained a positive increase for a few years.

The berry sector -- in which 300 growers this year achieved GLOBALGAP certification – is expected to increase exports of blackberries, despite heavy rain.

Photo: www.topveg.com

Source: www.freshfruitportal.com