Peruvian exports of Hass avocado in the 2017 campaign are expected to increase by 20% to 30% in volume when compared to the 166,000 tons exported in the previous season, said the president of the Peruvian Association of Producers of Hass Avoado (ProHass), Daniel Bustamante Canny.
He said exports would increase because Peru hadn't achieved its real productive growth in the last two years due to climatic effects. "This year the weather is much more favorable for the production of avocado, as the orchards have returned to their previous standards," he said.
In addition, he stated, new plantings in the central coast, the north of the country, and in the mountains will begin contributing to the national production. "We have planted new hectares of avocado and they will start producing low volumes this year and have higher yields in the coming years."
Regarding the shortage of rain there was, which led to a decrease in the irrigation of the crops, he said it was still too early to know what effects this would have on the fruits. "There are still three months left for the fruit to finished forming. We could have smaller sizes, there is a risk involved but it is too early to tell. So far, we expect the campaign will be normal."
Colombia, Thailand and Vietnam could open their markets this year
Daniel Bustamante said there was a big appetite for Peruvian avocado this campaign. "We have traditional markets, such as Europe and the United States, and we also have new markets that want to buy our Peruvian avocado, such as Asia, Chile, and Argentina," he said.
He stressed that avocado consumption in traditional markets had been growing year by year thanks to the promotional work carried out by ProHass in the United States, Europe, and in other countries. "We invest money on promotion to publicize the benefits of Hass avocado, especially its health and nutrition benefits."
In this regard, he said that the Peruvian companies would send more avocados to Asia this year, but that they still had to work hard to promote avocado consumption in this market. "For example, the people in China, which is such a large market, still don't know much about avocados. That's why we are promoting its attributes to support this market's growth and so that they start consuming this product as they consume other types of fruits."
Regarding new markets, the president of ProHass said that they expected to open the Colombian, Thai, and Vietnamese markets to Peruvian Hass avocado this year. ProHass, he said, has been working with the National Service of Agrarian Health (Senasa) to open all possible markets.
He also said that the competing producing countries, such as the United States, were expected to have a lower production this season, which could be favorable for the Peruvian production.
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Daniel Bustamante said ProHass would be present at the Fruit Logistica fair, which will be held from February 8 to the 10 in Berlin (Germany). "This fair is very important because it takes place before the start of Peru's Hass Avocado campaign, so there's much market to absorb, much to share with the customers, and this is where we start making commercial programs and defining this season's promotional campaigns."