The products arrive by boat weekly from countries like Costa Rica, China, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Honduras.

"Most ‘by air’ products go straight to their final destination", he says. The largest part of the assortment is available all year at La Tropicana.

He says that at the moment, the sweet potatoes with white flesh from Honduras are hot sellers, “The popularity is increasing, and now there aren’t many other countries supplying. The demand is big.”

Almost all products are for re-export. “These exotics also find their way into cities like The Hague, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Brusseles, but the main export markets for La Tropicana are France, Spain, Portugal, the UK and Italy.”

Vincent Schoonbrood, La Tropicana Exotic Food Importers