The Peruvian Table Grape Growers Association (Provid) stated that, according to the results of the first campaign survey for the 2016-2017 period, estimates are that the export volume for northern Peru would fall by no less than 30%; while there would be around 10% growth in the south.
According to the guild, the information was collected from the responses of associated and not associated agricultural exporting companies that together accounted for 68% of the volume of table grapes exported in the previous season. Thus, in general, the volume of shipments would be marginally lower than that achieved during the 2016-17 campaign.
"The most important fall would be in the volume of Red Globe grapes coming from the northern regions, currently estimated at -38%," stated the document.
The start of the campaign in northern Peru was delayed by 12 to 15 days, due to the impact of lower temperatures at the end of winter. The south would be experiencing similar delays because of the same phenomenon.
In addition, the report states that, since the most affected fields were those of late pruning in the north, the overlap between the two production zones is expected to be very brief.
"It is important to note that the representativeness of the group of companies participating in this survey is 75% in relation to exports from the north, and 65% in relation to exports from the south," they added.
Finally, the guild stated that both the effort to consolidate the individual projections and the protocols to make the estimates are novel, so their conclusions still have to be taken with caution.