So far in the 2017 campaign, Peruvian citrus exports totalled 151,090 tonnes, and 160,000 tonnes are expected by the end of October.
This was indicated by the general manager of the Association of Producers of Peruvian Citrus (ProCitrus) Sergio del Castillo Valderrama, who pointed out that the record for exporting citrus (mandarins, tangelos, oranges, lemon and grapefruit) from Peru has been broken this year.
"In February (the beginning of the campaign) we estimated that more than 130 thousand tons of citrus would be shipped, slightly exceeding what was achieved in the 2016 campaign, where 127,788 tons were sent, but the reality has exceeded our projection," he said.
He detailed that in the present campaign 117,318 tons of mandarins have been exported and they still have to dispatch a smaller volume of varieties with seed; when 91,121 tonnes of tangerine were shipped last season.
In tangelos, he said that in the 2017 season, 25,242 tonnes of the fruit were dispatched, compared to 20,877 tonnes in the previous season, reflecting an increase of about 21%.
In the case of lemons, he noted that so far this year's campaign has already dispatched 5,679 tons, when last season 4,000 tons were shipped. Grapefruits have been exported for 1,086 tons compared to the 1,394 tons of the previous season.
On the other hand, so far they have sent 1,765 tons of oranges, but it is expected that during the remainder of the campaign it will exceed what was recorded in the last campaign where 10,377 tons were exported.
Sustainable growth
Sergio del Castillo noted that Peruvian citrus exports grow every year. "We believe that we are going to continue like this, there is a varietal change in mandarins that will allow it to continue growing in a sustainable way and will also allow us to extend the campaign".
He indicated that this change in mandarins is led by varieties such as W. Murcott, Tango, Satsuma earlier and later, Israeli varieties, among others.
He added that, year after year the Peruvian tangerine enters more markets. This year shipments to China have almost quadrupled and in the United States these have also increased; in addition the Russian market, whose shipments have declined in recent years, has recovered somewhat.
Peru to export 200 thousand tons of citrus in 2020
The general manager of ProCitrus, also noted that there is an organic growth of citrus in the country, where each year about 600 hectares (mainly mandarin) are installed, in addition there are plantation renovations that are accompanied by field modernizations (mechanized irrigation) which will generate more production.
"I projected that by 2020 Peru would reach 200 thousand tons of exported citrus. This year we are already at over 160 thousand tons and the following year we will also grow, so we will be able to achieve thatl, in accordance with the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation's (Minagri) goal to double agroexports and reach US $ 10 billion," he said.
Source: agraria.pe