The Canary Islands’ Institute of Agricultural and Alimentary Quality (ICCA) has filed the registration of the Canary Islands avocado as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) in the EU register in Brussels, according to the regional Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.
At the beginning of this year, the corresponding documents for this registration were drawn up at the request of the Association of Canary Islands Avocado Producers’ Organisations (Asguacan) and sent to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for subsequent transfer to the European Commission.
With all the documents already submitted to the EC, the ICCA continues with the procedure established in the applicable regulations, and has six months to review the documentation, request clarifications if necessary and then proceed to its publication to initiate the public exposure procedure.
If no objections are raised, the Commission will publish the registration of the Canary Islands Avocado PGI in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).
REVALUING THE CANARY ISLANDS’ AVOCADO
Alicia Vanoostende, the Canary Islands Regional Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, stressed that “access to the PGI quality scheme is an important factor in the exploitation of a competitive advantage in quality, especially in a marketing context characterised by high competition, in which the PGI will protect and enhance the value of the Canary Islands avocado”.
At the same time,” he continued, “it would transfer security to consumers through the guarantee of quality linked to its origin, positively influencing commercial efficiency”.
All in all, he stressed that “the application for registration of the Canary Islands Avocado PGI is of general, economic and social interest, given that obtaining this protection would have a long-term impact on differentiation and convergence towards technical progress and correct agronomic practices that would result in a more efficient structure for marketing”.
A PRODUCT HISTORICALLY LINKED TO THE CANARY ISLANDS
The Government of the Canary Islands recalled that avocado cultivation has been historically linked to the archipelago since ancient times, with the conservation of documents that validate the importance of the islands’ avocado.
This historical history of avocado cultivation is combined with the worldwide boom in this fruit, which has led to a gradual increase in the relative weight of this crop in the Canary Islands.
Thus, the area under avocado cultivation on the islands has increased by approximately one hundred percent in terms of growth rate over the last ten years, with an average annual growth rate of eight percent.
In addition, the avocado is a crop that begins to produce within four or five years of planting, so the prospects for growth in production are significant. Likewise, the avocado sector in the Canary Islands has historically defended the quality of this fruit linked to its geographical origin.
