Grapes have become Peru’s leading agricultural export in value terms, with shipments rising by 59.1 per cent between January and November 2014 to reach US$450.3m, according to figures from exporter association Adex.
Hong Kong was the biggest market, totally US$74.6m, an increase of 174 per cent compared to the same period of 2013. This was followed by China (US$72m) and the Netherlands in third place. Other important markets were North America, the UK, Russia, Thailand, Indonesia, Colombia and South Korea amongst others, Adex said.
Peru exports table grapes to more than 70 countries but Asian markets have seen the most rapid growth in recent years. The industry has set its sights on Japan, a market that Sandro Farfán of national producer association Provid is confident will open up in time for the 2015/16 season.
“The fact that we have so many export markets is one of Peru’s key strengths as it has enabled us to build a solid export industry in a relatively short amount of time,” he said.
However, such rapid growth generates its own challenges and as production increases, so too has the need for greater consolidation.
“As a sector it has become apparent that we need to organise ourselves better –to plan the season and carry out more analysis on markets and prices,” Farfán noted.
