However, outside the Amazon region in Peru peach palm is not widely recognized. According to a survey conducted in the country’s capital, Lima, only 2 % of those interviewed were aware of peach palm fruit consumption (Lopez and Lozano 2005). Evidence from Brazil suggests Epacadostat purchase that the closer peach palm producers are to urban centers, the higher the incomes they expect from its cultivation. For producers far away from urban areas peach palm will likely remain a subsistence crop, which cannot compete with processed starch products (Clement 2006). A peach palm–black pepper–cacao plantation in the Brazilian state
of Bahia showed positive economic returns from the fourth year onwards (Alvim et al. 1992). A report from Costa Rica also
underscores the economic potential of peach palm, indicating a fruit yield of 10 t ha−1 and gross income of about 3,000 US-$ ha−1 year−1 (Cordero et al. 2003). Market demand for freshly cooked fruit is estimated at about 20,000 t per year in Colombia, and the demand is increasing (Clement et al. 2004). In Brazil market studies on peach palm show that the demand for fresh fruit has remained find more stable during the past 50 years (Clement and Santos 2002). However, reports of overproduction have come from Colombia and Brazil (Clement and Santos 2002; Godoy et al. 2007). There is no international market for peach palm fruits. In Colombia peach palm cultivation is more market oriented on the Pacific coast than in Pembrolizumab the Amazon region (Clement et al. 2004). PP2 research buy That is especially the case in the municipality of Buenaventura (Department of Valle del Cauca),
where peach palm is very widely cultivated. In the more northern Chocó region, in contrast, production is destined more for home consumption (Patiño 2000). Colombia’s Pacific coast is one of the country’s poorest and most marginalized regions and among those most affected by conflicts resulting from drug trafficking and the presence of guerilla and paramilitary groups. Under those conditions, the peach palm has gained particular economic importance. The region’s climatic and edaphic conditions (including precipitation of about 8,000 mm year−1 and acid soils) make it poorly suited for commercial agriculture, and its predominantly Afro-Colombian population lives in small settlements scattered along rivers. Farmers cultivate peach palm in small orchards and home gardens, using traditional management practices, which usually do not include seed selection. The fruit forms part of rural diets and represents the main source of income during harvest (Mejía 1978; CIAT, unpublished). The city of Cali reports the highest levels of peach palm consumption in Colombia (Clement et al. 2004; Quintero 2008), with a sales volume estimated at around 10 million dollars year−1 (CIAT, unpublished).