Complejo Agroindustrial Beta Company expects to produce 6,500 tons of tangerines this year and 8,500 tons of tangelos, said CEO Lionel Arce Orbegozo.
He indicated that the company currently has 100 hectares of Owari and Okitsu tangerines varieties and 100 acres of the Minneola tangelo variety, which yield 65 and 85 tons per hectare, respectively.
The tangerine campaign begins in February and ends in June, while the tangelo campaign starts in late June and ends in the last week of July.
Lionel Arce explained that much of their citrus production is destined for the domestic market, as it is an important venue for citrus crops. According to him, this reduces export volumes. "When the national market responds well, the campaign has better results," he said.
"The local market has attractive prices for citrus, especially between January and March, which doesn't motivate us to export a lot. That's why much of the production stays in the local market, but it depends on how the market behaves "he explained.
He stated that currently the tangerine campaign was running late due to meteorological factors and that the prices were not what they expected, so the industry is concerned because they don't know how the local market will behave.
"If the volumes concentrate quickly, then the market will be saturated and prices will fall quickly forcing producers to export more quickly than expected. Hence, we do not know how much fruit will be sent to international markets," he said.
Source: Agraria.pe