Piura overtook Ica to become the biggest export region for the first time last season
Peruvian table grape exports are forecast to rise by 14% in 2014/15 to around US$600m, according to the ministry of agriculture. This comes on the back of a 79% increase in shipments for the first eight months of 2014, Minagri’s Juan Manuel Benites Ramos said.
Speaking during last week’s 2014 Tropical Grape Symposium in Piura, he pointed out that the volume exported from Piura exceeded shipments from Ica for the first time last season, reaching 73,000 tonnes and 68,000 tonnes respectively.
“Planted area in Piura increased by 22% to 4,280ha last year, while in Ica it went up by just 1% to 8,750ha,” Benites said.
He noted that productivity in Piura is the highest in the country, with yields averaging 29.4 tonnes per hectare in 2013, almost 10 tonnes per hectare more than in the second most productive region.
Peru’s main export markets in 2013/14 were the US (US$97m); Europe (US$75m), China (US$46m) and Russia (US$43m). Of total plantings of 20,500ha, just over half (53%) are used for export, according to official data.
During the past five years, Peru has risen up the rankings of global grape exporters climbing from 16th place to seventh and overtaking Spain, Mexico and India. In 2013 it was responsible for 5% of the total grape volume exported