Peru's fruit and vegetable sector has a strong export vocation. To export, it relies on producers, exporters, and packing warehouses that can guarantee a constant process of calibration and packaging of fruits and vegetables, such as Agrihusac, a fruit processing and packaging company based in Huaral that has been providing services to fresh fruit exporters for 30 years.
"Mandarins account for an estimated 60% of the volumes we handle per season, avocado for 35%, and mangoes, pomegranates, blueberries, and pitahayas account for the rest," stated Belisario A. Chian Vásquez, general manager of Agroindustrias Huaral S.A.C. "We process the fruit that is delivered to us by export companies. Production peaks between July and August. We are currently processing Satsuma mandarins and other early varieties, whose harvest has decreased by about 40% this year due to flowering and fruit setting issues caused by the high temperatures due to the influence of El Niño phenomenon. However, we'll have the usual volumes of late-mandarin varieties. This is the first time in decades that we've had such a pronounced loss of product and we may have to deal with this kind of heat waves more often in the future."
"However, it's worth stressing that the excessive heat did not alter the coloring nor the sizes of the Satsuma mandarins. While it's true that the Tango mandarin seems to be becoming increasingly popular among producers in the Easy Peeler segment, at the end of the season we still process some seeded varieties, such as Malvasia mandarin, which are generally intended for the Russian market. The mandarins that do not meet the quality requirements of the international markets, about 40% of the production entering the packaging plant, are sold in the national market."
Agrihusac processes a volume of fruit equivalent to 2,800 twenty-ton containers. To keep as many workers as possible employed throughout the year, the packaging company is committed to diversifying its product basket. At the peak of its workload, the company employs around 600 people. "The biggest challenge, however, is finding enough labor because many production companies compete with each other to hire workers in the high season. That's why we also continue to bet on process automation," the general manager stated.
For more information:
Eng. Belisario A. Chian Vásquez
Agrihusac (Agroindustrias Huaral S.A.C.)
Av. Victoria km. 5.0
Ex Hacienda Retes
Huaral – Perú
Mobile phone: +511 977 387 137
[email protected]