Peru already exports passion fruit to important destinations, such as the Netherlands and the United States. However, the country should also consider exporting this fruit to regional markets, such as Mexico and Brazil, which can be potential markets thanks to their large population and growing consumption place, said the spokesperson of the Fruits for Industry Working Group of the Association of Exporters (Adex), Renzo Gomez.
He also said that searching for new market alternatives, and getting new customers with different tastes was vital to increase the expansion of this fruit's production and marketing.
Brazil is an important producer of passion fruit, but it consumes all of its production and therefore does not export. "We have an opportunity to supply its audience," he said.
"We should look for possible clients around the world. Asia, for example, could also be another great destination," he added. "For example, we could mix the passion fruit with other sweet fruits and it to the Asian markets," he said.
Positioning the country's passion fruit
Gomez, who is also the commercial manager of Selva Industrial, said that the Peruvian producers had to work to differentiate themselves from the competing countries of the region and look for a characteristic of their own to highlight their passion fruit.
He said that Ecuador had consolidated itself in the tropical fruit market thanks to the quality of their product, which the country achieved due to the warm climate of its lands, and that Peru could also achieve this, as the country could grow a good quality passion fruit in the lands of the north coast of Peru and in the jungle that it could export abroad.
The main companies of the sector formed a work table to promote the genetic aspect that is related to the cleaning and multiplication of the certified seed, and to let farmer's know how to cultivate better fruits, he said.
In 2017, passion fruit exports amounted to more than US $46 million, i.e. 12% less than in 2016. 50% of the passion fruit is produced in Ancash and La Libertad, according to Adex.
Source: gestion.pe