The agro-exporting company, Agroindustrial Beta, plans to build two reservoirs and two wells in response to the water shortage.

The Beta Agroindustrial Complex reported that this campaign they expect to exceed the production of 12,000 tons of blueberries in their Olmos farm (Lambayeque). Last year they produced 13,000 tons. In addition, they plan to build two reservoirs and two wells due to the water shortage.

Miguel Corilla, agricultural manager of Lote Olmos 1, said two months ago that the current campaign was going well in general terms, since the Sekoya Pop—a variety of blueberries—began its production in August.

However, the Ventura variety was still taking a while. Why? The manager explained that, after last year's drop in production, pruning had been delayed for a few weeks and because temperatures only returned to their historical lows in May. "The campaign is going much better than last year. Today we see a lot of fruit, we are harvesting 50 tons a day, compared to last year, when we harvested ten tons," Corilla indicated.

On the other hand, he stressed that The last avocado campaign also suffered a drop in production. Of the 13,000 tons recorded in 2022, only 7,000 were produced a year later. Corilla explained that the remnants of last year's Niño Costero manifested themselves this year in the form of a lot of fallen fruit, small fruit and fruit in smaller quantities. The agricultural manager is confident that in the new campaign the plants will recover their productivity.

Regarding the water shortage, Corilla said that it will be resolved in the coming weeks, as soon as the rains begin. However, they were taking precautions. In addition to the two reservoirs and four wells they have in their two fields, they plan to add two more reservoirs and two more wells.

Beta will add a new variety of blueberries

In April of this year, the company reported that it has begun planting 50 hectares of a new variety of blueberry, called Mágica, on its Olmos 2 farm (Lambayeque).

He also noted that another 50 hectares of land will be dedicated to planting this variety of blueberry in the Santa Margarita Fund, located in the region Ica.

In total, 100 hectares will be focused on this type of blueberry.

Beta's operations

In 2023, Beta It positioned itself as the fourth largest exporter of blueberries in Peru, achieving foreign sales of this fruit worth US$120 million, according to information from the consulting firm Fluctuante.

Recently, Lionel Arce, general manager of the company, advanced to Managerial Accounting that the EBITDA for the total operation that year would be close to US$90 million, higher than the US$55 million of 2022. These results responded to the diversification of crops and the good prices of the blueberry y table grapes in foreign markets.