Peru is the seventh biggest supplier of mandarins worldwide and the most significant exporter in Latin America. With the US, UK, the Netherlands and Canada at the forefront, Brazil now also imports this Peruvian fruit.
This year’s campaign has seen some variations to the initial forecasts, mainly due to climatic factors associated with the El Niño effect, which led to more discarded fruit than expected. Although the volumes are slightly below last year’s (2%), fruit was expected to continue to come out until October, and in general terms the campaign will end with a similar volume. In 2015, exports came to 115,000 tons, worth US$120 million, meaning a slight rise of 1% on the previous year, following the trend in growth seen over the last decade. There are differences, however, in the varieties exported. This year, tangelo saw a drop from 25,000 tons in 2015 to 20,500 this season, while there was an increase in mandarins from 75,000 to 76,000.
The trends in international markets have not varied, taking into account the peaks seen in varieties that may appear in the campaign. The early varieties are sent to Europe, where there is most demand at the start of the season, whereas the US bounces back, as of June, demanding tangerine varieties such as W Murcott and Tango, the leading exports, with nearly 30% of the total. The big news is that Peruvian mandarins are now sold in Brazil.
