Peruvian blueberry exports have had an incredible growth in the last five years. According to the ADEX Data Trade Commercial Intelligence System, Peruvian blueberry exports, between January and October, went from US $16,729,407 in 2014 to US $381,129,696 in 2018, i.e. 23 times more.
Sales in this period this year were 54.06% higher than the US $247,393,267 achieved in the same period of 2017. According to ADEX projections, the year 2018 will close with shipments of around US $500,000,000.
The former president of Sierra and Selva Exportadora, Alfonso Velasquez, believes that the boom in the production of blueberries will have a permanent effect. "We hope that Peru will become the main exporter of blueberries in 2021, surpassing Chile," he said.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur), Peru is currently the second largest exporter of blueberries after Chile. From January to October 2018, the main export destinations of Peruvian blueberries were the United States, which accounted for more than half of the shipments (US $195,172,009); the Netherlands (US $84,194,434), the United Kingdom (US $34,959,238), China (US $24,281,201), Spain (US $16,496,457), and Canada (US $10,676,399).
To continue expanding the market, Velasquez said Peru must prepare to meet the demand in Asia, where blueberry has a great demand because it is very healthy. He also said the negotiation of an FTA with India was a great opportunity for the exporters of this fruit.
Peru's strength as a blueberry exporter is due, in large part, to the fact that small Peruvian producers have joined together and have trusted this boom, Velasquez said, adding that the country was starting to export added value products, such as frozen, canned or dehydrated blueberry.
Source: gestion.pe