The projected volume would mean an increase of 5% compared to the previous season, according to agraria.pe.

In the 2023/2024 campaign that has already begun, Peruvian blueberry exports would reach close to 300 tons, which would represent a 5% growth compared to the 286 tons shipped in the previous campaign (2022/2023).

This was stated by the president of the Association of Blueberry Producers of Peru (Proarándanos), Daniel Bustamante, who said that this estimate is very premature due to the anomalous weather that has been occurring. Likewise, the volume of production will be subject to the impact of a possible El Niño phenomenon.

In this sense, he said that the blueberry crop (installed mainly on the North coast in the regions of La Libertad and Lambayeque) endured the El Niño phenomenon of 2018, but the situation today is different because the blueberry industry has another scale compared to that of that year.

"We have to see that the minimum temperatures do not affect flowering, the fruit that is already set how it will represent in the weight per berry, it could also affect productivity, among others," he said.

Regarding the rains recorded due to Cyclone Yaku, he said that they did not affect this crop because at that time the 2022/2023 campaign had already ended and there was no harvest.

Installation of blueberry areas slows down

Daniel Bustamante pointed out that in Peru there are currently around 18.000 hectares of blueberries. In this regard, it indicated that the repeal of the Agrarian Promotion Law No. 27360 (which was replaced by Law No. 31110), added to the recession that has been occurring in the consumer markets for this fruit (located in the northern hemisphere) , have generated that the installation of new areas of this crop is not so buoyant.

“The double-digit productive growth that Peru had been registering definitely hit the market. I think that this slowdown in growth by our country is going to be important for the sector”, he stated.

He stressed that Peru, being the world's leading exporter of blueberries at a global level, has the responsibility of leading the industry, and that has to come with a responsible attitude towards the markets, in terms of the quality and volume that is shipped.

“We are expanding our commercial windows precisely because of the quality of our product. We must not let our guard down on that,” she maintained.

The president of Proarándanos highlighted that the blueberry is a very intensive crop, which is why it generates a lot of labor, especially women (50% of the workforce in this industry is female). In addition, he said that this crop is a booster of local economies.

varietal replacement

Regarding the varietal replacement that has been appreciated in this industry, he pointed out that it is due to the fact that the markets prefer premium varieties, which is why a difference in prices is beginning to be seen. "That's just getting started and it's still nascent, but it's expected to happen more and more in the near future."

In this sense, he said that the main varieties installed in our country are Ventura and Biloxi, but behind them there are many new varieties that have been incorporated into the market and with significant quantities due to the high interest that exists, such as Rocío, Eureka, Sekoya, among others.