The financial crisis continues to affect the Peruvian economy after the country’s total agricultural exports dipped by 5 per cent in value to some US$601.5m during the January-April period of 2009 on the back of weak demand in many of Peru’s traditional markets, including the US and the European Union.
Volume remained stable during the first three months in spite of the recession, according to data from the Peruvian Exporters Association (Adex). However, trading in April suffered a reversal in fortunes, due largely to a contraction in coffee exports following inclement weather conditions.
Of the total US$601.5m-worth of agricultural exports, Peru’s fresh vegetable and fruit shipments fell by 20 per cent and 7 per cent respectively in the January-April period.
During the first three months of the year Adex said the value of its agricultural exports decreased by 12.9 per cent to US$490m, declining by 6.8 per cent alone in March to US$148m.
In March, Peru’s agricultural production grew 7.3 per cent, compared with the same month in 2008, reported the Ministry of Agriculture’s Office of Statistical and Economic Studies (OEEE), including a 52 per cent increase in the avocado crop, especially the Hass variety, which is shipped mainly to the Netherlands (absorbing 78 per cent), Spain (10 per cent), the UK (9 per cent), among other countries (3 per cent).
Banana yields also rose by 31 per cent in March, while production fell for a range of other fresh produce items, including asparagus, artichokes, mangoes, Piquillo peppers and table grapes, among others.
The US remains Peru’s main export destination for agricultural products, garnering a 1 per cent increase in import volume during the January to April period to US$170.1m, up from US$168.9m during the same period last year.
The Netherlands ranked the second-largest importer, with volume reaching US$94m, followed by Spain (US$54.6m), Colombia (US$47.1m), Ecuador (US$26.4m) and Germany (US$23.1m), among other destinations.
