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Peruvian Fresh Produce about to Take Off

Increased demand for Peruvian fresh produce worldwide, in volumes and sales

Huge growth in sales and volumes is expected for the Peruvian fresh produce in the coming years, as demand for its widening range of vegetable and fruit continues to rise.

That was one of several notable messages from this year’s Eurofruit Congress Southern Hemisphere, which saw over 250 key industry players from 17 countries convene for a two-day networking and conference event intended to uncover new opportunities in Peru’s fresh produce business.

Carlos Enrique Camet, president of the country’s fresh produce export association Agap, pointed out at the start of the two-day event that Peru has already witnessed staggering growth in its fruit and vegetable export sales over the past ten years – from US$220m in 2003 to a forecast US$1.8bn in 2014 – and is on course for further increase, as output across nearly each product category continues to rise.

Camet revealed that having produced around 1.22m tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables this year, the country is expected to produce 3.5m tonnes by 2020,  with table grapes set to increase from 250,000 tonnes to 1.2m tonnes, avocados from 177,000 tonnes to 793,000 tonnes and pomegranates from 9,800 tonnes to 23,000 tonnes.

Leo Cruz, Tesco’s commercial sourcing manager for the Americas, told delegates that Peru was now very much a central part of its sourcing plans for fresh produce.

He commented “Peru is extremely important for us”. “It’s growing 8-10 per cent per year in terms of volumes and plays a strategic role for grapes, citrus, avocados and exciting new areas like berries and veg. Peru will probably be the most important country in the next ten years for our sourcing in Latin America.”

Liu Zijie, founder and chairman of Chinese Shanghai-based importer Goodfarmer, echoed that sentiment, but said Peru’s continued success would depend on its ability to meet the demands of the major emerging markets of the world, including China.

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