In the coming days, two representatives of Grupo Pão de Açúcar (GPA) of Brazil, the leading supermarket chain in Latin America, will arrive in Peru to manage the purchase of fruits and vegetables directly from the producers in the regions of La Libertad and Ica, stated the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur).
The visit of both directors will take place in the first week of July as a result of the efforts of the Commercial Office of Peru in Sao Paulo (Sao Paulo OCEX), PromPeru and the Institute of Asparagus.
The representatives of Grupo Pão de Açúcar will meet with producers and exporters of Trujillo and Ica in order to agree on direct purchases as to avoid having intermediaries.
The representatives will acquire green asparagus, grapes, olives, frozen strawberries, among other products and vegetables for marketing in the Brazilian market.
In this regard, the head of Mincetur, Magali Silva, highlighted the sustained growth of agricultural exports to Brazil, which grew by 21.9% between January and April 2015, despite the slower growth of the Brazilian economy.
Silva added that exports of asparagus have increased 14%, grapes 284%, and olives 90% between 2013 and 2014, making the Brazilian market a great business opportunity for Peru.
"This is due to the quality of our products and our competitive prices that open up new sales channels, such as supermarkets," he said.
Grupo Pão de Açúcar has over 800 stores throughout Brazil and it is the main supermarket chain in Latin America.
Mincetur said that, through the Commercial Office of Peru in Sao Paulo, it was preparing a Business Roundtable for the month of July in the State of Acre (Brazil), and a buyers’ mission in August for the Expoalimentaria Fair, the most important fair of the food industry that is held annually in Peru.