Peru's Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, Jose Manuel Hernandez, gave the country's blueberry producers good news, as Brazil, which has more than 200 million inhabitants, will soon become a new market for Peruvian blueberries.
He said that Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply had approved the phytosanitary requirements that Peruvian producers must meet to export this valuable fruit to the Brazilian market.
Hernandez said that this achievement had been possible thanks to the work carried out by the Senasa, a strategic arm of the Agriculture and Irrigation sector that has been working with the Brazilian authorities in the development of phytosanitary rules and actions that benefit the agriculture of both nations.
He said that Peru's geographical location and the possibility of sending the blueberries by land, through the Interoceánica Sur highway, gave the country a privileged position to supply all of Brazil.
"Senasa field servers are ready to seal the containers with the first loads of blueberries to Brazil, an action that validates the fruit as free of pests and avoids the cargo from being manipulated or altered during the trip. Thus, ensuring high standards of safety," Hernandez said.
This new milestone for Peruvian agricultural exports comes a few months after Peru began exporting blueberries to China, which has more than 1.4 billion consumers, as both nations subscribed to a protocol of phytosanitary requirements during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) held in November 2016 in Lima.
Projections
In April alone, 5,936 kilograms of fresh blueberries underwent sanitary inspection in the Callejón de Huaylas (Ancash) to be sent to the Netherlands and the United States.
The start of the 2017 blueberry export campaign has generated great expectations among producers, as this crop wasn't affected by the climatic diasters in the region.
According to estimates, this year Peruvian blueberry exports will surpass the 232.9 million dollars reached in 2016.
The United States will be the main destination, with nearly 130.7 million dollars, followed by the Netherlands (52.7 million), the United Kingdom (29.6 million) and Canada (4.9 million), according to figures from Customs.
It's worth noting that Brazilian consumers already enjoy Peruvian mandarins, tangelos, and chia. In addition, expectations are that the phytosanitary requirements for pomegranate will be approved in the coming weeks.
Both countries are still in talks regarding cherimoya, tomato, dairy, eggs, prawns, and capsicum imports, among other products.
Source: andina.com.pe