Dragon Fruit Boom: Felipe Carrillo Puerto’s Third Harvest

FELIPE CARRILLO PUERTO, MX — In the farmlands of the community of "Los Chunes," harvesters are in their third season of harvesting pitahayas, a trend also seen in Yaxchechal where they project obtaining about 60 boxes per plot, with a price of 800 pesos per box, according to producer Clementino Chan Cab.

In this context, the Mexican Government's Secretariat of Agriculture explained that producing pitahaya is not a simple matter; it is a task that demands commitment and patience. The cuttings are supported by trees that do not exceed two meters in height—a process that requires a tutor (trunk) for support and needs to be pruned periodically to curb the fruit's main predators, such as birds, chinches, beetles, and moths. A single plant can produce up to 40 fruits, weighing between 500 grams and one kilogram, though this depends on the type and variety of pitahaya.

A hectare of the exotic fruit sometimes yields enough for about four sales, during which time vehicles enter the community to buy the fruit, also known as "dragon fruit."

On this matter, Clementino Chan Cab explained that he has a one-hectare plot of pitahayas and with it compensates for some losses related to the cultivation of corn and other field products. He indicated that once the pitahaya production begins, he notifies buyers from various points on the peninsula, such as Campeche, Yucatán, and cities like Mérida and Cancún, who load the boxes of pitahayas to transport to the different markets they can access to sell at better prices.

In the Los Chunes area, unlike Yaxchechal, they are part of the federal program "Sembrando Vida," which has made them more consolidated in the cultivation of pitahaya and other products of the milpa. In this zone, more than ten communities are dedicated to pitahaya cultivation and are also about to begin harvesting.

At least 2,300 growers are already harvesting 874,000 pitahaya plants in 60 localities in the municipality of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, and it is still not known how or where the fruit will be sold; in the 103 Comunidades Agrícolas Comunitarias (CAC) there is high demand for pineapple, pitahayas, ramón, achiote, plantain, lemon, soursop, mango, and avocado.

Agriculture authorities recommend that to prevent the dragon fruit from spoiling, producers can transform it into yogurt, pie, gelatin, ice pops, beverages, sauces, and natural colorings, for example.

The Dirección General del Sistema de Información Agroalimentaria y Pesquera (DGSIAP) points out that the national production of pitahaya accounted for 11,829 tons, coming from 2,128 hectares, with a production value of 248 million 390 thousand pesos.