According to the general manager of the Association of Producers of Citrus of Peru (ProCitrus), Sergio del Castillo Valderrama, Peru could export 192 thousand tons of citrus this year, i.e. 15% more than the 167 thousand tons it dispatched in the previous season.
Del Castillo Valderrama said this projection was greater than the one ProCitrus had made at the beginning of the year, which considered there would be a 10% increase in exports this year.
"This increase is due to the good start that the campaign has had with the early varieties and a larger volume expected from the late varieties. In 2017 the trees didn't produce much because of the Coastal El Niño, as a result this year the flowering came on strongly," he said.
Regarding the early varieties (which are harvested from February to June), he said the Satsuma variety has had a positive year, and that there had been an increase in exports of the Primosol variety, which went from 2,300 tons (110 containers) in 2017 to 4,000 tons (190 containers) this year.
Meanwhile, exports of the Nova variety went from 2,205 tons (105 containers) to 2,730 tons (130 containers); while exports of the Clementine variety went from 220 containers last year to 290 containers this year. Each container stores 21 tons.
Mid campaign data
Sergio del Castillo said that up until week 25 of the current campaign (June 23), Peru had exported 61,684 tons of citrus (51,390 tons of which correspond to tangerines and 2,765 tons to tangelos). By the same week of 2017 Peru had shipped 44,442 tons of citrus (36,694 tons of tangerines and 2,562 tons of tangelos).
Source: agraria.pe