Peru plans to export 75,600 tons of blueberries in the 2018/2019 campaign, i.e. 56% more than the 48,446 tons it dispatched in the previous season (2017/2018).
This was stated by the general manager of the Association of Producers of Blueberries of Peru (ProArandanos), Sergio del Castillo Valderrama, who said that this significant increase in exports was the result of the plantings producers have made in recent years.
The 2018/2019 campaign began this week
Sergio del Castillo said the first shipments of blueberries, which would mark the start of the campaign that will end in March next year, were scheduled for this week and that the largest shipments would be made starting August 2018.
"The campaign has already started. In July, we'll export a maximum of 400 tons per week, but starting week 32 (August 6) we'll export more than one million kilos per week; starting week 35 (August 27) we'll ship more than 2 million kilos per week; then from week 37 (September 10) we'll export more than 3 million kilos a week; and as of week 39 (September 24) we'll export more than 4 million kilos per week," he said.
Starting week 44 (October 29), he said, shipments will start to decrease to 3 million to 4 million kilos per week; in week 47 (November 19) they will fall to 2 to 3 million kilos, and they'll continue decreasing until week 52 (December 24) when we'll start exporting less than 2 million kilos a week until the end of the season in February or March.
China will increase purchases
According to Sergio del Castillo, the United States was the main destination of Peruvian blueberries in the 2017/2018 campaign, as this market purchased 23,292,878 kilos of this fruit (i.e. 48% of total shipments). It was followed by the Netherlands, with 12,147,557 kilos (25% of the total), the United Kingdom with 4,710,946 kilos (10%), China with 4,172,279 kilos (9%), and Hong Kong with 1,664,013 kilos (3%).
"Shipments to China in the 2018/2019 campaign will continue to grow and this market will surely displace the United Kingdom as the third main destination and it is possible that by 2020 it will become the second destination," he added.
In this regard, he said that they expected to export more than 33 million kilos to the United States (46% of the total), 18 million kilos to the Netherlands (26%), 11 million kilos to China ( 15%) and 9 million kilos to the United Kingdom (12%) in the 2018/2019 campaign.
Source: agraria.pe