This year, Peru has again participated in the International Fair of the Fruit and Vegetable Sector Fruit Attraction, organized by Ifema Madrid in Spain, which is the third most important market for Peruvian agriculture (only behind the United States and the Netherlands). As revealed in the latest Monthly Report on Peruvian Exports, prepared by Promperu's Market Intelligence Department, Peru's total agricultural exports to Spain up to July reached an FOB value of US$307 million in 2021, registering a year-on-year growth of 22%.
"Peru was one of the first to show interest in participating in Fruit Attraction 2021, and from my point of view, this edition has been a success and has exceeded all expectations," said Joan Manuel Barrena, economic trade advisor of Promperu in Spain. "The Peruvian pavilion featured 16 companies and 5 associations that in turn brought together 10 companies and, according to data provided to us by Ifema, 260 professional Peruvian visitors from 186 companies offering agricultural products or services were registered. In commercial terms, all the companies exhibiting at the Peruvian pavilion were very satisfied with the quality of the visitors they received from Spain, France, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and even India, as well as with the magnitude of the fair."
Peru can offer a wide range of agricultural products and has a high productive capacity thanks to the climatic diversity conferred by its topography (with the Andes mountain range), which in turn, results in a great ecological diversity. In fact, according to data from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur), in 2020 Peru was the world's largest exporter of fresh blueberries and quinoa, the second largest exporter of avocados, fresh asparagus, canned asparagus and peeled chestnuts, the third largest exporter of whole ginger and the world's fourth largest exporter of fresh grapes, mangoes and peas. Last year it stayed in the ranking of the top 10 global exporters, with a total of 37 different products. "Peru is, indeed, a great food supplier, but so is Spain, and both countries complement one another, as they produce in each other's off-season," says Joan Manuel.
The main products exhibited at the fair, and the most demanded by visitors, were avocados, grapes and asparagus, which this year have been unseated by avocados as the most exported fresh Peruvian product to Spain; although these were not the only ones, says Promperu's economic and commercial advisor.
"We also showcased our mangoes, pomegranates, citrus and ginger, as well as our range of ethnic products, which have great potential. Fruits and vegetables in this category are on the rise in Spain, and not only among those in the country's large Peruvian and Latin American community. An average of 150,000 tourists travel to Peru annually to learn about the local gastronomy; there are more than 220 Peruvian restaurants that are a sort of ambassadors of these products and have popularized chili peppers, a very important ingredient in our cuisine, limes, widely used in ceviche, lucuma, which is a product with which we make ice cream, ollucos or purple corn. In fact, today these ethnic products are not only targeted to the Peruvian or Latin American consumer, but also to the Spanish consumer," says Joan Manuel Barrena.
New products could enter Spain in the short term
The Commission for the Promotion of Peru for Export and Tourism, Promperu, is working in the promotion of Peruvian products with added value in the global market, bringing the national supply closer to international importers and promoting business opportunities in Peru.
"As far as the entry of new products is concerned, we do the necessary work at the request of the Peruvian private sector. If it asks for a new product to be introduced in a market, we get to work on it. We aim to introduce pineapples, organic bananas and persimmons in Spain in the short term. In fact, even before the pandemic, we heard from a Peruvian company interested in importing Spanish persimmons and, in turn, exporting them to Spain in order to guarantee a year round supply."
"During the fair we also exhibited the Ataulfo mango, which is a yellow, small and very sweet mango, and we received many inquiries from Spanish companies that showed great interest in this fruit," says the professional.
"We are very happy to have been at Fruit Attraction, which is consolidating as a very important fair for the Peruvian fresh sector, and which is also held on an important date, right before the blueberry and grape harvests kick off in Peru. The number of visitors and the interest received from both Peruvian and Spanish companies ratify the importance of this fair for Peru, so we will return in 2022 in a greater space that should allow us to bring more Peruvian companies and also serve more visitors," says Joan Manuel Barrena.
For more information:
Joan Manuel Barrena
Economic and Commercial Advisor
Peru Trade Office of Madrid
Promperú
jbarrena@promperu.gob.pe
https://institucional.promperu.gob.pe