The need for Peru’s grape industry to broaden its varietal portfolio has never been greater, according to Nick Fitzpatrick, T&G Global’s general manager for the Americas.
As annual pack-out volumes of the nation’s dominant Red Globe variety approach 30m cartons, Fitzpatrick says the pitfalls of being so reliant on one offering are beginning to emerge.
“In terms of our third party growers, we are not directly involved in their planting strategies but we are certainly encouraging them to diversify their plantings,” Fitzpatrick says. “The majority of these growers are in this process of doing this, as they are largely reliant on Red Globe and are no doubt struggling given the past couple of seasons have resulted in tough trading conditions for Red Globe.”
T&G seemingly anticipated such a predicament. Having acquired a 340ha land holding in the Piura region, the New Zealand-headquartered company’s first development phase has been the planting of 200ha of table grapes, which will be completed by 2017. Fitzpatrick says T&G has made a concerted effort to develop a point of difference with its production base.
“We are committed to planting the large majority of our farm in seedless varieties, including proprietary varieties, of which there are many options,” he explains.
This is not to say Fitzpatrick sees no place for Red Globe in Peru’s export mix going forward.
“I very much believe in a future for good quality Red Globe from Peru as it still has many redeeming qualities such as size and suitability for long transit markets,” he says. “The current volume is probably enough for existing markets, given their window.”
Fitzpatrick says the success of all Peruvian export programmes ultimately hinges on the willingness of the supply chain to commit to producing a high-class offering.
“Peruvian growers need to continue improving their quality and focus less on yield, as the last couple of seasons have seen some very poor quality fruit shipped to market,” he notes. “This has impacted on Peru’s reputation as a quality producer.”
T&G Global is also working to develop a citrus export programme out of Peru. Fitzpatrick says it has been a slow process to date, with production issues over the last couple of seasons, along with the current selection of Peruvian offerings, providing obstacles.
“Many of the varieties grown in Peru are still not suited to the Asian market where we believe we can add most value for the time being,” Fitzpatrick says. “We have developed some citrus business to our China office, which we hope to increase this coming winter season with murcotts.”
The company also has a well-established asparagus programme out of Peru, with its exports formerly shipped under the Delica brand. Asia and Australia have been key markets for the trade since the early 2000’s, however, Fitzpatrick says the business has changed over the past five years or so.
“Due to the nature of the product, Peruvian production has actually decreased, while demand has increased in traditional markets such as the US, and to a lesser extent the UK and Europe,” Fitzpatrick explains. “It has been tough to grow the Asian and Australian programmes as the value that Peruvian growers can currently get from the US market is very high. We still have a strong market share in Asia and Australia but are waiting for some new production acreage to come on.”
