Guatemala, Popoyan: ‘Priva is the logical partner for our plans’
The market for Central American horticultural entrepreneurs is expanding steadily. Mexico is a key player in the region, but the sector is developing as well in adjacent countries. In Guatemala, for example, more and more growers invest in technological advance. Like in Mexico, they aim for exporting their products to the United States. Priva is the foremost supplier of technical equipment via dealer Agropecuaria Popoyan S.A. in Las Charcas.
Guatemala has everything a grower needs. First, the climatological conditions are perfect for growing tropical fruits as well as crops like peppers and tomatoes – mostly in plastic greenhouses as glass offers no added value. Products can easily be transported by road or via sea harbors on the shores of both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Arable land and labor are relatively cheap. And, very important as well, the virtually insatiable markets of the United States and Canada are right at the doorstep. A comparison to Mexico would be logical, but is inappropriate for now: the Mexican market is much larger, companies are bigger and can invest more in technology. Nevertheless, Guatemala is catching up on its neighbor as growers are discovering more possibilities to raise their production per square meter using more advanced hydroponic technology.
Collective of growers
Popoyan has been a Priva dealer for almost three years now. The company is a key player on the Guatemalan market, growing its own crops like pineapples and other tropical fruits along with tomatoes and peppers. At the same time, Popoyan acts as an intermediate for other growers and horticultural investors in the region, providing services like the building of (mostly plastic) greenhouses, the supply of young plants, the supply and servicing of technical equipment and the handling of crops. That means Popoyan guarantees its partners to buy their products, sort and pack them and ship them to the Northern American continent. ‘In essence, we form a collective of growers that have decided not to compete locally or nationally, but internationally’, says Joaquin Melgar, technical director at Popoyan. ‘Popoyan represents this collective. Thus, we’re able to compete with growers from Mexico, Canada and the States itself.’
See what Priva can do
All the equipment for controlling climatological conditions, water treatment, irrigation and ventilation in greenhouses Popoyan sells and installs comes from Priva. ‘I had the opportunity to visit a large horticultural project in Mexico some years ago’, explains Joaquin Melgar. ‘The company had chosen Priva as the party responsible of the entire climatological solution for the greenhouse. There I saw what Priva equipment could do. I also visited projects in Costa Rica where others were installing climate control units, but those companies seemed less able to keep up with technical developments. As we already had plans to become a distributor for horticultural technical solutions at Popoyan, Priva seemed like the only logical partner. I got into contact with Niels van Rooyen, the account manager for the Central and Latin American region, which was very pleasant from the start, and we decided to give it a go. Since then, our partnership has offered us everything we expected.’
Demand for high quality
As Niels van Rooyen emphasizes, the cooperation is a win-win situation for both sides: ‘With Popoyan, Priva has a very good access point to yet another Central American market. Popoyan is able to supply Guatemalan growers with advanced Priva solutions that can better their position.’ ‘We see it happening right now’, Joaquin Melgar continues. ‘Growers are switching from soil to substrate, so the treatment and disinfection of drain water gets more important every day. Thus, we’re selling Vialux HD UV, NutriFit and NutriJet irrigation units, as well as sensors for Ec and pH values in the water. We’ve already had some projects incorporating a Priva Intégro process computer as well. I think there is no other choice. Customers in our markets demand high quality crops that are grown under precisely controlled conditions. Priva equipment allows us to fulfill that demand.’
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