The Agricola Cerro Prieto (ACP) company plans to increase its avocado exports by 9.4% this season, reaching a volume of 35,000 tons compared to the 32,000 tons shipped in the 2019 season, stated Alfredo Lira Chirif, ACP's general manager.
He also said that the current campaign was delayed by nearly five weeks, so it would conclude in the third week of August. Normally, the company ends the campaign in mid-July. "This delay is due to a climate issue (the fruit took time to acquire the percentage of dry matter required to be able to export) and to the market, as there was a lot of avocado from Peru, which is why the company decided to reduce its harvest curve," he stated.
He also said that the greater volume of fruit from Peru had generated pressure in Europe and - to a lesser extent - in the United States, so prices (which are still good) won't be as high as the ones achieved last year.
According to Lira, Agricola Cerro Prieto will send 60% of its export volume to Europe, 30% to the United States, and the remaining 10% to other markets, such as Asia and Chile.
ACP has 1,600 hectares of avocado in Peru (all in Chepen, La Libertad). 1,200 hectares are in production and the remaining 400 are still growing; 200 hectares of these hectares will go into production next year and the remaining 200 in the 2022 season. The company also has areas in Colombia, where they are planting avocados in order to supply its customers throughout as many weeks as they can a year.
“ACP currently has 200 hectares of avocados planted in Colombia and we are looking to plant many more. The project here is to set up avocado as the main crop, but we have an area dedicated to testing new crops and varieties,” Lira stated.
Source: agraria.pe
