Shipments forecast to contract this year, while 2025 exports will also be affected
Water shortages in Piura are causing concern among the region’s producers of Persian limes. With around 18,000ha of production, Piura is Peru’s main supplier of Persian limes for the export market.
Reports in Agraria said exports were likely to contract in 2024, with next year’s harvest also impacted by the drought. Production of yucca, corn, papaya, tomato and peppers have also been affected.
The lack of rainfall has depleted reservoirs, prompting the regional authorities to request that the government declare a state of emergency and implement contingency plans to help local farmers.
Local grower Pedro Pasiche said the drought is affecting the quality of the limes, meaning the fruit can only be sold on the domestic market.
Gabriel Amaro, president of the Association of Agricultural Producer Guilds of Peru (Agap), said lime production in Piura grew 20 per cent between 2022 and 2023, with exports rising from 31,000 tonnes to 35,000 tonnes in that period.
However, to August 2024, shipments were 8 per cent lower than in the year-earlier period, and Amaro said the downward trend was expected to continue to the end of the year.
“It is very likely that, due to the drought, the lemon market will not recover from this negative percentage between now and December. The report we have is that the amount of water for productive and exporting valleys is reaching minimum levels,” he told Agraria.
He noted that with the 2025 crop also likely to be affected, the resulting fall in production could lead to higher prices, increasing the risk of criminals breaking into farms and stealing the fruit.
Agriculture plays a key role in Piura’s economy, generating employment and foreign revenue and supplying the country with food. Amaro called for the government to invest in the necessary infrastructure projects to protect the region’s water supply.
