According to Alfonso Tuesta Velasquez, CEO of Sierra Exportadora, the next Peruvian agricultural export product that will be a hit is the Cherry.
Cherries could acquire prominence in the Peruvian agricultural export basket because of the unique climate of the Andes, which is ideal for its proliferation, he said.
In this regard, he stated, representatives of the Sierra Exportadora and cherry specialists from Spain and Chile visited different valleys in the mountains and verified Peru's immense potential for cultivating cherries.
"The specialists determined that Cajamarca, La Libertad, Tayacaja Pampas (Huancavelica), Anta (Cusco), among other places that we visited, are extraordinary areas to grow cherries," he said.
Tuesta Velasquez noted that there are currently no cherry crops in Peru and that Sierra Exportadora hasn't begun promoting the crop yet. However, he said, they were crossing information and views with Chilean experts to start some facilities.
"The cherry is the future of Peru. We currently don't have any, but we didn't use to have blueberries. There was also a time when we didn't have avocados. Peru has proved that, regarding fruits, it is in the path of success," he said.
The berries have a good future
The president of Sierra Exportadora was optimistic about the berries' future. He stated that the country had exported 605,000 kilos of blueberries, valued at U.S. $4,616,000, in the first quarter of 2014. Additionally, he predicted that this year's shipments wouldn't be lower than 35 million dollars. In 2013 they reached $17 million.
"In the first three months of this year, the main market was the United States with 450,000 kilos worth U.S. $3.35 million, followed by Netherlands with about 1 million dollars, UK, Hong Kong and Germany, among others."
He stressed that his culture was rapidly growing and noted that there were 500 acres devoted to this crop in Peru by the end of 2013, and that by the end of 2014 there would be 1,000 hectares.
"Peru had a production ceiling of 4,000 hectares of blueberries, but the market is growing due to the increased demand for this product in Asia, the U.S. and in Peru, as the Peruvians are discovering the health benefits of the blueberry. Thus, we can say we'll be successful, not only with blueberries but also with strawberries, raspberries and cape gooseberries," he said.
Cape gooseberries exports (fresh and dried), he said, amounted to U.S. $83,000 in the first quarter of the year while shipments of strawberries (frozen) totalled $1 million dollars, i.e. 650,000 kilos.
Regarding Raspberry, he stated that the Fund for Innovation, Science and Technology had recently accepted a protocol for its innovation that would allow the development of the origin of seedlings and extension protocols for this product.
"The berries, in general, have proved to be an outstanding choice for the small, medium and large agriculture in Peru, but it will especially allow the country's mountainside to participate in this boom via smallholdings, which in practice means productive inclusion," he concluded.
Source: Agraria.pe
