The Peruvian government is seeking to increase citrus export programmes to the US. At present, only five areas are included in the US import protocol: Ica, Lima, Lambayeque, Piura and Junín. Sergio del Castillo, general manager of ProCitrus, said the National Service of Agrarian Health (Senasa) has asked America’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (Aphis), to allow imports from all regions.
“Usually, when a country is about to begin exporting to the US, they conduct a risk analysis, which indicates where the crops are being cultivated,” he said. The only citrus being grown at the time the assessment was performed was in the five areas now cleared for imports.
Since then, however, new production areas have sprung up in the regions of La Libertad, Ancash and Arequipa, amongst others. “That is why we’re requesting that these productive areas be permitted to export,” del Castillo said.
Peru exported 97,450 tonnes of citrus during 2013, a rise of 11 per cent on the previous season. Around 20 per cent of shipments went to the US, the country’s third biggest import market after the UK and the Netherlands. Tangerines made up more than half of the export volume (56 per cent), tangelos accounted for 31 per cent of the total and oranges for 10 per cent.
