The Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture (Minag) has announced the creation of the first Peru-US binational association – the Peruvian Avocado Commission or PAC – to jointly promote Peruvian avocados on the US market.
Chaired by Enrique Camet (current chairman of the Peruvian Hass Avocado Producers’ Association – ProHass), PAC comprises the main producing, packing and exporting avocado companies in Peru as well as importers in the US, according to a statement by Minag.
The seal of approval was received by Minag on Friday 12 November from Edward ávalos, sub-secretary of the US Agriculture Department’s Marketing and Regulatory Affairs Agency.
“It’s an honour and a huge step for Peru to receive this certification which will allow the Peruvian agriculture industry to continue advancing in areas such as the promotion of Hass avocados, and the increase in consumption in the US,” explained Peruvian Agriculture Minister Rafael Quevedo Flores.
Given that Peru’s avocado season does not overlap with other countries, including the US, Mr ávalos said the idea is to build a year-round presence of Hass avocados on the US market to promote continued consumption.
To fund the promotions, PAC will collect subsidies of US$0.05 from each kilogramme of avocados shipped to the US.
Avocado production in Peru rose by 14.7 per cent to 148,900 tonnes in the first nine months of the year, according to Minag, with exports reaching some US$82.1m in value.
