The chinola, Also known as “passion fruit” and native to the Amazon, it is a mix between bitter and sweet; It is oval, with a hard shell and a viscous interior covered by a large number of black seeds, to which aphrodisiac effects and various beneficial health properties are attributed.
Nutrition specialist Daviela Rodríguez points out that it provides vitamins A and C, as well as B complex, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium.
It is a creeper whose stems are climbed in bowers. If driven towards them, the leaves are ragged-edged with three dark green lobes on the upper side. The flowers are composed of yellowish sepals and petals, and thin wavy crown portions, with the lower half purplish and the upper half creamy-white.
He Department of agriculture establishes that between 2017 and 2021, 846.3 metric tons of this fruit were exported for a value of US$1,052,951.8. In addition, during 2021, 29,500 tasks were planted, barely 0.49% of the total amount allocated to other items, which reached 5,962,723 in that year.
According to the Dominican Price Information System, a dozen citrus oscillates between RD$180 and RD$225 in the markets, while in supermarkets it varies from RD$70 to RD$114. Regarding frozen pulp, elDinero verified that it is at RD$150 per pound, while in supermarkets it is sold at RD$209.
Products
Virtually everything can be used from this fruit, from its seeds, pulp and peel, since various by-products are released there, such as sweets, juices, compotes, tea, vinegar, liqueurs, spicy food and livestock feed, among others. That is why, thanks to its variety of uses, people use it as raw material to undertake.
Pachamama Fruits EIRL has conceived a line of specialized oils for cosmetic use from the extraction of oils from chinola, avocado, cocoa, orange, sapodilla and macadamia seeds.
The representative of the company based in El Limón, Samaná, Nora Lis, stated that this type of body oils is considered a “favorable option due to its antioxidant properties.” Likewise, she explained that the consumer prefers products of vegetable and organic origin.
“We are the owners, we started as producers of the fruit (passionflower edulis) and over time we incorporated other tropical fruits, as well as production processes to be able to package and sell the farm’s fruits at a greater distance. For some years we have been producing frozen fruit pulp throughout the country”, he said.
problematic
The cooperative of Chinola producers from the Eastern region (Cooppecre) is a group with 76 members that has more than two decades working in advisory programs and scientific trials concerned with the well-being of the seed and planting material.
The president of the cooperative, Clemente Báez Vargas, states that the fruit “is and continues to be a good business option”, despite the losses they have had as a result of Hurricane Fiona and the drought.
“Due to all these events, it has not been possible to talk about exports. A spinach at the field level costs RD$10 for the few cultivated areas,” she said. Likewise, he indicated that the production cost per task of the fruit increased by 40% this year, due to several pathogens (Fusarium and Colletotrichum) that affected the harvest.
chinola trade
Develop a demonstration trial with the cultivation of the “passion fruit” which will include biological and organic products that will be arriving from South America so that the producer learns new ways of producing it.
A report from Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation of Peru on the “Passion Fruit Market Trends and opportunities in the International Market” explains that Brazil is responsible for 70% of the world production of the fruit, however, Peru is the main exporter in the world, surpassing Colombia and Ecuador .
More than 90% is exported in concentrated juices, with the main market being Netherlands. The four countries contribute 90% of the production in the region.