Exports of Hass avocados from Peru have not been affected by ongoing economic difficulties in the US and Europe with growth reaching 23 per cent so far this season, according to the Peruvian Hass Avocado Producers Association (ProHass) and reported by Agraria.pe.
ProHass general manager Arturo Medina said that prices on the US market have even been higher than last season (reaching US$48 per (11kg) carton) due to the 50 per cent decrease in production from California.
According to information from the sector, Peru could export 1,500 containers of Hass avocados to the US in 2012, the report said.
This season (which is due to end the second week of September), exports to the US are expected to reach 400 containers.
The opening up of the market has reportedly led to a decrease in the volume shipped to Europe given the closer proximity of the US and huge consumption there, the report explained.
Between January and July this year, Peruvian Hass avocado exports totalled 46.8m tonnes, worth some US$86.2m, according to figures from Inform@cción.
The main destinations were the Netherlands (with 54 per cent of the volume), Spain (28.2 per cent) and the UK (8.2 per cent).
Peru is also investigating the possibility of accessing new markets such as Mexico, Japan and China, which, according to Medina, are interested in receiving Hass avocados from Peru.
