The Association of Citrus Producers of Peru (Procitrus) expects another good year in sales after the demand for fruit with vitamin C due to the pandemic led to a remarkable 39% increase in shipments in 2020. The increase was present in the main categories: mandarins (+45%), oranges for juice (+40%), Sutil lime (+47%), and Tahiti lime (+22%).
We expect the world demand for citrus will continue to increase this year, although at a slower rate. We estimate there will be a 10% increase in exports on average, stated Sergio del Castillo, the general manager of Procitrus.
It should be noted that orange and lime shipments have registered surprising growth in the last three years, so their growth rate is very similar to that of mandarins, the main citrus fruit exported by Peru. However, while mandarins account for nearly 80% of the citrus exported, oranges account for 10%, and lime only for 7%.
Export potential
According to the manager of the union, since the consumer market is very large and Peruvian participation is still very small, there is still much room to increase sales of oranges and limes abroad.
Peru produces nearly 1.4 million tons of citrus fruits each year, but the country only exports nearly 20% of its production, i.e. about 270,000 tons. "The other 80% stays in the country, but it has export potential," Del Castillo said.
According to the Integrated System of Agrarian Statistics (SIEA) of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Midagri), in 2020 Peru produced 525,000 tons of mandarins. Lima was the main producing department with a 44% share. Orange production totaled 553,000 tons and Junin was its main producer, as 45% of the crops are located there.
Source: gestion.pe / agraria.pe