Ethiopia shipped 40 tons of organic banana to Saudi Arabia as the nation begun exporting the fruit for the first time.
International companies have shown an interest to export organic bananas to meet the high demand on the international market.
An agreement is in the process of being negotiated with one of the parties interested in exporting Ethiopian bananas for the export of 200 tons of the fruit to the Jeddah market every week.
Export standard organic bananas are cultivated in the Southern Regional State with more than 3100 hectares of land devoted to the purpose. There are more than 11400 farmers currently engaged in the cultivation of organic bananas in the region.The Ethiopian Horticulture Development Agency is striving to enhance the quality of bananas cultivated in the country to attract customers on the international market.
With this view in mind the EHDA has imported two different high-yield varieties of South African bananas to distribute among small farmers and private investors in the sector to ensure a supply of organic bananas on the international market.
Presently there is a significant demand for organic bananas in Europe and the Middle East countries which are located in close proximity to Ethiopia.
The first step taken to export organic bananas to Saudi Arabia has been seen as significant development for the horticulture industry.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency
