Peruvian avocado exports are tipped to further increase this year on the back of growing demand across the European Union (especially in the Netherlands, Spain and France) and the opening up of the US market.
The Peruvian Exporters Association (Adex) said shipments rose by 24 per cent in value to US$83.2m during the January to November period of 2010, up from US$66.8m in 2009.
The Netherlands was the biggest receiver (accounting for US$38.1m of the export total – up 13 per cent on 2009), followed by Spain, France and the UK, where sales grew by 44 per cent, 26 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.
Sendings to the US – currently Peru’s sixth-largest market – soared by an impressive 451 per cent last year to some US$762,891, according to Adex, following the opening up of the market to Peruvian avocados.
Although exports to the US last year were not significant in value terms (representing just 1 per cent of total sales), Adex predicted that the situation will change in the medium-term now that Peruvian avocados can be shipped to the US without undergoing a cold treatment process.
Canada also received a volume of avocados from Peru last year, with sales reaching US$2.3m, making the country the fifth-largest export market, Adex reported.
Camposol is Peru’s largest avocado exporter, representing US$15.3m worth of sales between January and November 2010 – an increase of 41 per cent on the year-earlier period.
Other suppliers include: Consorcio de Productores de Fruta (CPF), AVO Perú, Agroindustrias Solcace, Sociedad Agrícola Drokasa and Agroindustrias Verdeflor, among others.
