The papaya fruit is available in the markets all over the year, since it is cultivated in different countries and there is a wide range of varieties. Spain is mainly supplied by Brazil and Costa Rica, whereas France gets papayas from the Ivory Coast and Brazil, followed by Burundi, Mexico and Jamaica. The following table shows the leading countries exporting to the United Kingdom, the dates and the weight of the packages used.

Country of origin	Availability	Weight of the packages
Bangladesh	May-October	Various
Barbados	All the year round	4kg
Belize	On trial	Various
Brazil	All the year round	4/5kg
&bnsp;		8/12 units
Canary Islands	January-March	5kg
Chile	All the year round	Various
Colombia	April-June and October-January	Various
Costa Rica	All the year round	4.5kg
		9/14 units
Ivory Coast	All the year round	4kg
Dominican Republic	May	Various
Fiji	October-February	Various
Gambia	All the year round	5kg
Ghana	All the year round	4kg
Hawaii	February-November	5kg
Israel	November-January and May-August	5kg
Jamaica	All the year round	4.5kg
Kenya	All the year round	4kg
Malaysia	All the year round	5kg
Mexico	On trial	4kg
Nigeria	October-April	10kg
South Africa	November-May	4kg
		6/10 units
Spain	July-September	4kg
Thailand	All the year round	12 units
Turkey	Sporadically	Various
Uganda	On trial	Various
Venezuela	September-February	4/4.5kg
		6/14 units

Source: Fresh Produce Desk Book (1998)