In his talk given last Wednesday, at the inauguration of the International Blueberry Month, the director of Proarandanos, Miguel Bentín, communicated the projection that the body that leads the Peruvian industry estimates for the 2020/2021 season, and which corresponds exactly to a volume of 171.160.573 kg. which would mean an increase of 42,5% compared to last season.

The producer and pioneer of the Peruvian industry highlighted the accelerated growth of blueberry cultivation in the last 8 years in his country, which has gone from 70 hectares in 2012 to an estimated 14 thousand hectares in 2020, with a planting speed of 1.500 hectares per year. "This accelerated growth has been in areas and investment," he explains.

Reasons for growth

This growth translates into an increase from 1.400 tons in the 2013/2014 season, to 118.000 in the 2019/2020 season, and 171.000 projected for 2021. “I would say that the reasons that have driven this have been basically two, in the first place , the opportunities that there have been for the cultivation, and also the experience that the Peruvian industry had in crops that were not native, so it was able to adapt it successfully. This previous experience pushed Peru to look at diversification with much better eyes and we saw that it was possible to develop our portfolio and expand our offer with blueberries ”, analyzes Bentín.

In the field of comparative advantages that Peru has, Miguel Bentín highlights the geographical and climatic conditions "very favorable compared to the rest of the productive regions, not only to the nearby regions." This allows the development of an industry and a fairly planned season "because we are not repeatedly affected by important climatic factors that are disruptive to production, such as excessive rain or frost".

Extended season

“The type of climate we have, especially on the coast, allows us to have unusually long seasons that, added to the fact that it allows planning without disruptions, makes us a consistent supplier, and our product gives a fairly long and favorable postharvest life ”.

The other factor highlighted by the executive is the geographical location of Peru, which gives it an advantage in logistics routes and frequencies.

"These conditions have allowed Peru to become the main producer of fresh blueberries in the hemisphere in these eight years and the largest exporter on the planet," he says.

Speed ​​and varietal turnover

“Privileged positions in the markets are ancient history and will no longer exist, so the longer you can be present in the market, with good quality and constantly, the more valuable you are as a supplier in terms of reliability. It is an advantage that, if possible, Peru will take advantage of it ”, he points out.

Deepening the climatic advantage, he highlights that this allows the Peruvian blueberry to have a very fast development from its plantation to its first production. "It is a great advantage, because in the case of varietal replacement - which is already necessary - it will allow Peru to do so very quickly."

Organic

As relevant data, Miguel Bentín, highlights the projection of organic blueberry production of the Peruvian industry, which is estimated at more than 8.300 kg. for the next season. "Which means the destruction of the myth that it was difficult to do organic production in a place like the coast of Peru," he concludes.

The activities of the International Blueberry Month They will happen every Tuesday and Thursday in August and to participate in the talks you must connect from anywhere in the world to the link: