The Procitrus guild informed that Peruvian citrus exports reached 97,450 MT, thus meeting the expectations of agricultural exporters, who had estimated this year's shipments would increase by 11% compared to last year.
In this regard, Sergio Castillo, president of the guild of citrus growers, reported that Britain was Peru's main destination, accounting for 33% of shipments. It was followed by the Netherlands with 23%, the U.S. with 20% and Canada with 12%. A total of 97,450 MT were sent until mid- September.
56% of shipments were of tangerines, 31% of tangelos, 10% of oranges and 3% of grapefruit and lemons. Prices increased 10% over the last year. "A kilogram of tangerines was sold at U.S. $0.80 FOB this season," he said.
However, he stressed that, just like avocados, the citrus campaign should have ended in August, but that shipments had continued for two more weeks as there were still late crops of orange in Ica and Lima. "With these shipments, we might even end the year with a 12% growth," he said.
"It was a campaign that met expectations. We managed to export the volumes that we planned to and grew by more than 10%. On the other hand, the local market has been good. Procitrus is paying special attention to the domestic market, as Peruvians consume 90% of what is produced in the country," he analyzed.
He also noted that there were no new phytosanitary problems during this campaign and that they were able to handle the pests and viruses that already existed. "There have been no new pests. We only had those that we already knew and we handled them. That's why Procitrus works with producers and we give them support on biological control and chemical fertilization advice in their fields," he said.
Finally, he projected that shipments would increase in 2014. "If there is no climatic anomaly in the coming months, there will be a good harvest for the next season. Moreover, the citrus for export that has been planted in the last four years, at least 1,500 new hectares, will be coming into production," he said.
" There will be more fruit available for that activity," he said, adding that they are also working with the National Service of Agrarian Health (Senasa) to establish phytosanitary protocols for entry of Peruvian citrus into Brazil, Korea, Japan and other Asian countries.
Source: Agraria.pe
