During the year 2020, authorities of the National Agricultural Health Service of Peru (Senasa) already mentioned blueberries as an emerging organic product in the Peruvian industry, participating in 13% of the country's organic exports. Two years later, after Peru became the leading exporter of fresh blueberries, its producers are not relaxing and continue to look for business opportunities.

"Last season, we calculated that around 5% of the exported fruit was organic. For this campaign, for which we estimate a 30% growth in the volume of total blueberry exports, 7% will be organic. We see that in this campaign the volume of organics is going to double and that their participation is growing more and more,” Luis Miguel Vegas, General Manager of Proarándanos told Agraria.pe about the production during the 2021/2022 season.

It is due to the outstanding projections of this market and the opportunities it offers for Peruvian producers, that Blueberries Consulting takes to the next International Blueberry Seminar Trujillo Peru 2022 three leading experts in organic production. The event, which will take place on July 6 and 7 at the Costa del Sol Wyndham Trujillo Golf Hotel, will be attended by Martín Cotos, Control Union Operations Manager, along with Antonio Gaete and Emilio Merino, international organic production consultants, to analyze the opportunities, risks and challenges faced by the Peruvian producer who wants to change towards this increasingly demanded niche.

From La Libertad, the department with the largest organic blueberry plantation in Peru according to data from Senasa, Emilio Merino will present the talk "Organic production in blueberries: management and biostimulation of the crop", a topic that becomes more relevant when considering the increase in generalized costs that has experienced the cultivation of blueberries. In this regard, the expert stated: “We have to go back to the old way. Today we have many tools to recycle all nutrients through organic processes. It is to return to look for biofertility at farm level”. 

With the rise in the cost of fertilizers after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the consequent sanctions on the country that concentrates the largest share in the export of nitrogenous substances in the world, Peruvian producers face increases of up to 300% in the cost of these products, pressuring the authorities to regulate their increase to continue encouraging the industry. In this scenario, organic fertilizers are seen as a viable option that can bring higher profits, since they have a higher selling price.

But, to which markets should the organic Peruvian blueberry reach? In this regard, Martín Cotos, General Manager of Control Unión will speak with the talk "Updating regulations for organic production in the USA and Europe". In 2020, organic blueberry production in Peru had the United States as its main market, followed by European markets, according to Senasa. Each one of them has strict organic certification rules that must be followed for the products to enter these markets, and for the sale price to correspond to that of the organic blueberry. Cotos will review the best strategies and practices to comply with regulations, in addition to the aspirations that the blueberry industry in Peru must have to become export leaders of organic fruit.

Finally, it will be Antonio Gaete, Agricultural Engineer and experienced organic advisor, who will give advice for local producers who decide to start the change through the talk "Critical points to consider in the organic production of blueberries in Peru". For him, the key to the success of the organic industry in the cultivation of blueberries is to look for a good price differential, and to avoid high costs the starting point is key: "Many times the mistake is in deciding to go organic in the sector or headquarters meaner, productively speaking. However, it is quite the opposite. We should have the best to go organic because if we use the worst, it takes longer. If the orchard has a deficiency from a nutritional point of view, it must be corrected beforehand, because it is cheaper to correct with a conventional tool than with an organic one.”

To learn more about the opportunities of organic cultivation for Peruvian blueberry producers, participate in the next XXIII International Seminar on Blueberries Trujillo Peru 2022, this July 6 and 7 at the Costa del Sol Wyndham Trujillo Golf Hotel, the second seminar successfully organized by Blueberries Consulting in Peru this year.