Peruvian agriculture exports rose by 16.6 per cent in value terms to US$915.6m during the first quarter of 2012, compared with the US$785.5m-worth of products shipped in the year earlier period.
According to a report from the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture’s Economic Studies and Statistics Office (OEEE), the growth was driven by better prices for the country’s leading agriculture products and increased volume for table grapes, bananas and other items.
The largest price hike was recorded for asparagus, with a rise of 19.1 per cent, followed by mangoes (whose price increased by 43.7 per cent), prepared artichokes (14.6 per cent), coffee (8.5 per cent), evaporated milk (14.9 per cent) and fresh table grapes (2.7 per cent).
Volume-wise, OEEE said coffee and fresh grapes boosted sales, with growth of 73.1 per cent and 25.7 per cent respectively, while Cavendish banana volume was also up by 9.7 per cent, among other items.
Mango exports also rose by 33.2 per cent, asparagus by 9.7 per cent and prepared artichoke by 3.1 per cent, OEEE reported.
The non-traditional export category represented the bulk of Peru’s agricultural sales during the first three months at 82.7 per cent of the total, with sales up by 10.3 per cent to some US$756.9m in value.
Within the non-traditional category, table grapes saw the biggest export increases in the fresh produce sales, as sendings rose by 29.1 per cent, well ahead of Cavendish bananas (17.5 per cent) and asparagus (13.3 per cent).
Fresh avocado sales value also rose by 135 per cent between January and March this year, according to OEEE.
The US represented the biggest destination market for Peruvian agriculture shipments, absorbing 22.6 per cent of the sales value total.
The Netherlands ranked in second place with 13.4 per cent, while Colombia represented 6.7 per cent, Germany 5.9 per cent, Spain 5.5 per cent and Ecuador 5.3 per cent.
