Despite being one of the most consumed fruits in the world, because it is rich in vitamins and minerals that make it beneficial for health, Peru hasn' been very interested in developing apples.
Agraria.pe spoke with William Daga Avalos,a specialist from the Department of Agriculture (DGA) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (Minagri), who pointed out that Peru hasn't had new apple varieties for more than 40 years.
"We continue sowing the Delicia and Israel varieties and no others because then the Golden variety (which is also known as Santa Rosa or Caña) appeared and no one knows where it was developed. This last variety would be a cross between Gran Smith and Delicia," he said.
Daga stressed that there was no adequate work for the improvement of the varieties they had, especially regarding yields. "The average yield in Peru is 10.2 tons per hectare. Meanwhile, the lowest yield in Chile is 50 to 60 tons per hectare and they can produce up to 110 tons per hectare."
He said that, due to these low yields, producers considered that betting on this crop was a bad business. "We have to shorten that technological gap so that we can become an important apple producing country."
The specialist said that, in Chile, the companies that had money had developed the apple while in Peru it had been developed by small producers, not as a business, but for themselves.
"Producers must understand that producing apples is a very profitable business. If we can bring new varieties, like the ones in Chile that have a lowest yield of 50 tons per hectare, and considering that prices stand at 1.50 soles per kilo, producers would obtain a sale of 75,000 soles, from which they would subtract installation and production costs, i.e. 20,000 soles. In addition, producers would improve their economy because they would conduct three campaigns in two years," he stated.
Producers should start exporting and selling their fruit to the local market. Peru's trade balance in terms of apples is negative, the country buys US $ 48 million a year in apples, mainly from Chile. In addition, producers could also sell the fruit in fresh or to the processing industry
Data
Peru has about 10 thousand hectares of apple. The main producing area is the Sierra de Lima.
Markets request fresh, smooth, juicy red and green apples with a long shelf life.
Source: agraria.pe
