The greenfield pomegranate farm and new pack house in the fruit fly free area of Tacna in southern Peru, close to the border with Chile, exported 13 containers to six countries in North America, Europe and Russia.
They have also just shipped two trial containers of oranges to the U.S. making use of the fruit fly free status of the area in Peru. According to Roberto Persivale, CEO of Evergreen Agro Farms (EGA Farms), the farm benefits 50 small farmers in the area. They have their sights set on growing even more next season. "It has been our first year of operation and I think it has been successful. We sent 13 containers to six countries to new clients in USA, France, Holland, Sweden, Canada and Russia. So far the fruit has arrived in good conditions to the different ports of destination. Last week we shipped two containers of oranges. If the operation works, next year we could process 25 containers of Washington Navel oranges. Plus another 25 with pomegranates that would be 50 containers between week 09 and 28 of 2024."
Because the EGA farms are situated close to the border with Chile, they use that countries' port of Arica, which is 50 km closer than the port in Peru. "We are happy to have new clients as well as a few that are interested in our project with the small holder growers in this remote location in Peru. With this trial we are planning to expand our 100% owned packinghouse, which we now have that can process the equivalent of one container per shift."
"Our certifications for the first year of operations were BRC certified. We plan to certify SMETA for the next season. Due to our most southern location in Peru we have unique deep red fruits and arils as our customers have confirmed it. This past season we shipped pomegranates from weeks 12 to 24 and we expect to start week seven to eight next year together with the new group of farmers we've been able to expand our operations," concludes Persivale.
For more information:
Roberto Persivale
EGA Farms
Tel: +51 941101 892
Email: [email protected]