Exports of fresh cape gooseberries amounted to US $21,000 In 2015, i.e. 151.3% more than in the same period of 2014 (when they totaled US $8,700). Europe was their only destination as they accept imports of this fruit in fresh. However, if the country manages to achieve a protocol to enter fresh cape gooseberries to the United States, shipments will increase to US $500,000 per year, according to estimates from Sierra and Selva Exportadora, an agency of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (Minagri).
The CEO of this entity, Alfonso Velasquez Tuesta, said that the county had formed a technical committee to obtain this important document and that said committee was working to establish a plan to introduce this fresh produce to the US.
The committee, which is made up by public entities (Senasa, Inia, and PromPeru), private companies, and Peru's National Agricultural Health Service, (SENASA) already sent a request for the protocol to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Currently, a kilo of cape gooseberries costs between $5 and 6 dollars per kilo in the United States, which imports 15 million dollars of fresh cape gooseberries exclusively from Colombia (Peru's main competitor). If Peru exported US $500,000 fresh cape gooseberries to the US per year, that number would accounts for 3.33% of the shipments made by Colombia, so there is a gap to enter the Peruvian product to that country.
He also said that the cape gooseberries had a great potential in the US, because of the consumer trend to eat more healthy foods. Among other properties, this fruit has an abundant concentration of vitamins A, B, and C as well as iron, phosphorus, and, according to some studies, it lowers the amount of cholesterol and stabilizes the glucose level in the blood, which makes it a great anti-diabetic.
According to Velasquez Tuesta, cape gooseberries are mainly exported as dehydrated organic fruit and value-added products, such as jams, preserves, nectars, covered with chocolate, and as frozen pulp. In 2015, total exports of fresh and dried cape gooseberries totaled 1.8 million dollars, i.e. 15% over the same period of 2014 (1.5 million).
It's worth noting that fresh fruits enter the US market after having obtained import permits and after being subjected to phytosanitary treatments to prevent the entry of diseases and pests that currently don't affect US agriculture.