Peru’s table grape exports are expected to increase by between 20-25 per cent during the coming 2011/12 season, while current volumes are forecast to double from current levels within the next five years.
If achieved, the next campaign, which begins in October and runs through to the following February, would feature volumes as high as 115,000 tonnes, considerably greater than the 92,000 tonnes produced during the 2010/11 season.
However, the last campaign’s total itself marked a 34.4 per cent increase compared with the season before, and Fernando Cillóniz, president of consultancy Inform@cción, told Peruvian newsite Agraria that this was in keeping with the steady growth of grape production in Peru, with 2,000-3,000ha being added each year.
Mr Cillóniz told the publication that Peru had a “great opportunity” to grow as a grape exporter because its season began at the close of the California campaign and before the start of the Chilean season, a country that exports eight times more grapes than Peru.
The principal export markets for Peruvian grapes are the US (which receives 24 per cent), China (18 per cent) and the Netherlands (15 per cent), according to Inform@cción figures.
Red Globe accounts for an estimated 80 per cent of total production in the country.
