Big, crunchy, tasty, resistant and produced in a region with good tourist potential: the guava from Carlópolis won, in 2016, the Geographical Indication (GI) seal, granted to products recognized for their tradition and quality, which makes them unique in the world. world. Caminhos da Reportagem, which will be repeated this Sunday (8), will show what are the differentials of guava, the stories of the producers and the beauties, adventures and gastronomic delights of the region that produces the fruit. The Geographical Indication (GI) of Carlópolis attests to guava from two municipalities in Paraná: Carlópolis and Ribeirão Claro. Today, 36 fruit growers are members of Cooperativa Agroindustrial and 10 of them already have the IG seal. The visibility achieved with the Geographical Indication and the Global GAP (Good Agriculture Practices) certification leveraged guava exports from Carlópolis, which grew 1,142% in two years. A jump from 5.2 tonnes from January to June 2020 to 65.2 tonnes in the same period this year. England, Portugal, Canada and the Middle East are the main destinations for the fruit. The sales manager at Cooperativa Agroindustrial de Carlópolis and also a certified guava producer, Inês Sasaki, has participated in international fairs. “I went to Spain. And we took our guava. Everyone was amazed at the quality we have”, she is proud. She explains that the foreign market stipulates a fixed price for the fruit that is higher than the domestic market, which, moreover, fluctuates over the months. “In January and February 2022, the price within Brazil was around R$2. while, abroad, it was sold for R$ 4, from January to August, without any variation.” Inês explains that the reduction in pesticides was essential. “Every year, we do a laboratory test on the fruit, to see if there is any residue and also in the water to see if it is not contaminated”. The positive result was possible with the bagging technique, to avoid the guava fly. “From the moment we bag it, we don’t pass anything else, it stays around 60 days bagged without pesticides. So, we do all this work, which is manual, difficult, but it is safe for both the producer and the consumer”, evaluates Inês. In addition, other factors that differentiate the guava from Carlópolis are the thickness of the skin and the size of the fruit. “It has a thicker skin that allows for greater transport, better marketing, its space on the market gondola, makes it more resistant”, explains certified producer Rodrigo Viana. He says that the guava variety grown in this GI can weigh an average of 500 grams or more and that, due to its size, it is considered a table guava. The national Sebrae and the Sebrae in each state have helped to map and implement the GIs throughout Brazil. Currently, there are 92 recognized by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). Of these 92, the innovation analyst at Sebrae Nacional, Hulda Giesbrecht, explains that 69 are of the indication of origin modality, which is registered based on the region’s reputation for producing a given product, and 23 are of the denomination of origin modality, in which there is proof by scientific technical study of the characteristics and qualities of the product with the natural and human factors of the region. In the case of IG Carlópolis, guava is an Indication of Origin. Tourist area Riquezas da Nossa Terra: Special Area of Tourist Interest called Angra Doce – TV Brasil The region called pioneer north of Paraná, which includes Carlópolis and Ribeirão Claro, has the GIs of guava and also of coffee, in addition to a dam. In December 2019, it was established by law as a Special Area of Tourist Interest and officially called Angra Doce, in comparison to the beauty of the maritime Angra dos Reis (RJ). Angra Doce, in turn, comprises the reservoir of the Chavantes Hydroelectric Power Plant and its surroundings, in the states of Paraná and São Paulo. One of the places that offer leisure, adventure and contemplation activities is the Pedra do Índio Estancia, in Ribeirão Claro. The Estancia has a paragliding flight, a schooner ride and the longest zip line in Paraná, with a kilometer long and 128 meters high. Sebrae Paraná consultant Odemir Capello highlights the relationship between Geographical Indications and tourism: “We are already thinking about the GI route, as a way of adding value to small properties. In Italy, in the region of Emilia Romagna, which has approximately 400 geographical indications, you can see the products being consumed”. And there are already entrepreneurs in Carlópolis who take advantage of the tourist-gastronomic potential of guava, coffee and the dam. Bernadete Garcia Ribeiro Dyniewicz owns Parque Vila do Café, a site on the edge of the dam that has belonged to the family since the 1950s and is now open to visitors by appointment. Guava and coffee treats made Caminhos da Reportagem’s visit to the place even more delicious. Landscaping is also a highlight at Parque Vila do Café, where 3,000 seedlings of 20 native species were planted, in addition to a garden with 2,000 roses. “Certainly coffee and guava are driving tourism in the region. And we see that the social situation of the population is improving a lot, which is very gratifying”, observes Bernadette. Graduated in Information Technology (IT) in Curitiba, Rodrigo Amaral quit his job at an IT company in the capital of Paraná and returned to Carlópolis, his hometown, to help his father, owner of Caldo de Cana Amaral. He believed in the potential of products with Geographical Indication and created the Romeu e Julieta pastry, filled with guava paste and cheese, but with an unusual coffee mass. “Together with the pasta supplier, we got to that point, it took a bit of work, sometimes it was very strong, sometimes very weak, until it even balanced the taste of the coffee”, recalls Rodrigo. He has already sold more than 2,000 pastries in one weekend. Before the innovation, it sold around 150 at most. The couple Agostinho João Longo and Rosana Menegon decided, two years ago, to give a destination to the wasted ripe fruit in Carlópolis. They created a guava cachaça and took advantage of the quality of the region’s water resources to ensure good distillation. “All rustic, on the edge of the forest”, adds Agostinho, about Cachaçaria G&R. The program Caminhos da Reportagem will be repeated today (8), at 22h, on TV Brasil.
Agência Brasil
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