| Summary: | The present study was carried out in order to know the quality requirements for the commercialization and consumption of eggplant fruits in the main cities in Colombia. For this, semi-structured surveys were carried out that considered aspects of the commercialization, market, use, consumption, and quality of the fruits concerning the preferences of the fruit marketers and restaurants of Arab and Syrian-Lebanese food. Descriptive statistics, principal component, and multiple correspondences analysis were performed. The results made it possible to identify the characteristics of the traders, the origin of the fruits, prices, presentations, destination markets, and the most relevant aspects associated with the extrinsic quality of the fruit. It was found that, although there is a market for all types of fruits, in the cities of the interior of the country, black, shiny, firm, and shaped fruits are preferred, while in the Caribbean region, lilac or purple fruits longer than wide, bulbshaped fruits are preferred. The results allowed us to conclude that the quality aspects that determine most purche decisions in restaurants are the size, firmness, shape, and brightness of the fruits, while in marketplaces and supply centers, color, size, and health of the fruits are more determinant. It is recommended that genetic improvement programs in the country should be oriented to obtain varieties with colors, shape, and size according to the preferences of the regional and local market, highlighting the importance of obtaining fruits with greater firmness to improve shelf life.
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