Peru exported 235,000 tons of fresh mango in the 2019-2020 season, i.e. 38.23% more than in the previous season, according to estimates by the Peruvian Association of Mango Producers and Exporters (APEM).
However, the association forecasts there will be a 12% drop in the export volume in the 2020-2021 campaign, which would reach an estimated 207,000 tons. According to its president, Cesar Morocho, this drop would be mainly due to climatic factors.
For starters, there was a delay of up to 2 weeks in the flowering of the trees due to the minimum temperatures recorded in mid-2020. Then, there were droughts in October, particularly in the northern part of the country, where crops are concentrated: 65% in Piura, 12% in Lambayeque, and the rest in Casma (Áncash).
It was in that area where water storage in the last months of 2020 fell to its lowest level in recent years. In fact, the area's capacity remains below 50% nowadays, according to data from the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service of Peru. (Senamhi).
The increase in temperatures this summer forced the flowering to arrive suddenly, Morocho said. As a result, they won't be export to export all of the mangoes, due to the producers and port's lack of processing and shipping capacity.
New market
PromPerú reported that Hyundai had organized an event in renowned South Korean stores to help position Peru as the origin of quality mangoes.
However, APEM considered that they required greater investments to reach Asian markets more strongly. Unfortunately, they no longer have an incentive to make such investments due to the elimination of the Agrarian Promotion Law and the increase in costs brought by the regulation that replaced it.
Source: Gestión / agraria.pe