Peru has become the world's largest exporter of blueberries in a short time, and its growers have big plans for growth this season. Meanwhile, the first Peruvian blueberries of the season have arrived in Europe.
Luis Miguel Vegas, the director general of the Association of Peruvian Producers of blueberries (Proarandanos), told Agraria that he expects the volume of exports to grow by 30% in the 2021/2022 campaign. In the 2020/2021 campaign, Peruvian blueberries exports exceeded US$1 billion with more than 150,000 tonnes.
He went on to say that Peru, which has grown from exporting 12,000 tonnes in the 2015/2016 season to more than 150,000 tonnes in the 2020/2021 season, is the largest exporter of blueberries in the world.
In 2020, 11% of national GDP would come from the agro-export sector, in which blueberries plays a key role.
Exports of this fruit allowed the creation of more than 100,000 direct jobs in the 2020/2021 campaign, Vegas said. In 2016 there were only 2,300 hectares of blueberries in Peru, while in 2020 this number had increased to 13,600 hectares. By the end of this year, it is expected to reach 15,000 hectares.
In 2016 Peru had 13 varieties of blueberries registered for export, while in 2020 there will be 46 varieties registered, with Biloxi standing out as the most important variety in all this time.
"Producers are looking for new varieties, they are always striving to have a better product that meets the demands of consumers who are increasingly informed. You can have a very rich fruit, but the challenge is to maintain its status when it reaches its target market, which is increasingly distant. Here, the varietal issue linked to the operational issue has allowed Peru to position itself globally in this crop," said Vegas.
Source: ProduceBlueBook
