Camposol is poised to seal its position as the main player in Peru’s burgeoning blueberry export industry with the launch of an ambitious US$100m investment plan that will increase its production by 1,000 per cent in the next three years.
The company’s president Samuel Dyer said US$10m had already been invested in a 200ha farm in Chavimochie, with acreage set to reach 2,000ha by 2016. While the bulk of production will initially be destined for the US, rising consumption in Europe and Asia meant there were significant opportunities to expand in both markets in the future, Dyer added.
The company will invest an additional US$40m in 2014, half of which will go on new blueberry farms and the remainder on new asparagus production and boosting capacity at the company’s processing plants. Camposol currently accounts for around 60 per cent of Peru’s blueberry export total.
Dyer said Camposol also plans to open a number of new sales offices in the US and Europe. “Today we sell almost 30 per cent of our production to retailers and foodservice via our sales offices and our aim is to get to 50 per cent in the next five years,” he said.
Europe is the company’s biggest export market, absorbing around 60 per cent of shipments, but Dyer said the US would become equally important in the medium term. Camposol’s sales are set to reach US$230m in 2013, a 35 per cent increase on last year’s total.
Meanwhile, the company is evaluating the possibility of acquiring a major avocado distributor in the US, giving it greater control of its shipments to that market. Dyer said Camposol was seeking to either merge with its existing US distributor or acquire a new company.
