The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (Minagri) stated that Peruvian lime exports grew by 3.218% between 2002 and 2016, and that Chile was the main buyer of this Peruvian citrus product.
"Between 2002 and 2016 the volume of lime exports increased by 3.218%, as in 2002 this volume was only 91.3 tons," stated the last bulletin of the Directorate of Economic Studies and Agrarian Information of the Minagri
According to this document, in 2016 the country exported 3,029 tons of lime.
Meanwhile, the FOB value of lime exports has grown at an annual rate of 35%, and last year it amounted to 2.41 million dollars.
Export destinations
In 2016, the volume of limes exported was mainly distributed to Chile, which accounted for 93% of the total, followed by Panama (5%) and other countries accounted for the remaining 2% (including the United States, the Netherlands, and Belgium).
Minagri stated that lime was a permanent crop, which was sown and harvested all year round.
The harvest is given after 4 years of the planting period and the crop's economic life lasts approximately 15 years.
National Production
Lime production grew at a rate of 1.3% per year between 1997 and 2016. In 1997 the country produced 327,000 tons (the highest production of the last 20 years) until in 2016 it reached 270,000 tons.
The Minagri indicated that the average production in these 20 years was 231,000 tons per year, with the exception of 1997.
In 1998 production decreased to reach 208,000 tons, as a result of the 1997-1998 El Niño Phenomenon, which caused the loss of agricultural land.
The 2004-2005 and 2009-2010 Niño Phenomena also affected production, so the country only produced 202,000 tons and 197,000 tons in those years, respectively.
Surface harvested
Between 1997 and 2016, the country harvested an average of 20,200 hectares per year. The highest harvested areas were achieved in the years 1998, 2012 and 2013, with 22,500 hectares, 22,700 hectares and 23,700 hectares respectively.
The areas with the highest harvests were the regions of Piura (57.3% of the total harvest) and Lambayeque (19%).
In Piura the provinces of Sullana and Piura stood out, with 48.3% and 45.7% of the area harvested in the department, respectively. The province of Lambayeque accounted for 99.9% of the harvest in the department of in Lambayeque.
Lime crops are harvested all year round, but 60.4% of the national production accumulates between January and June.
Yields
At a national level, the lowest production level took place in 1998, as a result of the 1997/98 El Niño Phenomenon, as yields only amounted to 9.2 tons per hectare.
Other lower production volumes took place in 2008 (10.4 tons per hectare), 2009 (10.5 tons per hectare), 2012 (9.8 tons per hectare) and 2013 (9.6 tons per hectare) due to Low yields in Piura (the main producing area).
Meanwhile, the highest production volumes in the last twenty years took place in 1997, 2007, and 2014. In this years the production area of Piura had yields between 13.1 tons per hectare and 14.5 tons per hectare.
The main producing region in 2016 was Piura with 54.8%, followed by Lambayeque (19.1%), Tumbes (11%), Loreto (4%), and Ucayali (3.3%).
Source: andina.com.pe