Peru set a new record for fruit exports in the first five months of 2020 in spite of the challenges of Covid-19.
Exports reached a record US$1.414bn between January and May of this year, an increase of 11.6 per cent on the same period in 2019, according to data from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur).
After starting the year strongly, shipments fell sharply in the last week of March when the government imposed strict quarantine measures, before bouncing back in April and May.
“Despite the difficult situation generated by Covid-19, we have not stopped exporting fruit to the main international markets. This is due to the world demand for food, the implementation of agreements and the effort of the Peruvian business community to promote the entry of our exportable offer to the markets, ”said Sayuri Bayona, deputy minister of Foreign Trade.
The biggest increase was in citrus exports, which rose 41 per cent overall to US$62m. Mandarins registered a 50 per cent increase in shipments to US$54m on the back of production increases and strong market demand.
Grape exports were up 26.5 per cent at US$451m, mangoes increased 26.8 per cent to US$329m and avocado shipments rose by 7.1 per cent to US$328m.
The main destinations for Peruvian fruits are the US (40 per cent) and Europe (38 per cent). Exports to these markets increased 8 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.
Non-traditional products also performed well, with ginger showing a 162 per cent increase in exports between January and May to US$23m.
