Peru’s Agro Exports Booming in 2021

Raw Common Coffee Bean

Vegetables

Fresh Onion

Published Nov 5, 2021

Peru’s agri-exports have grown dramatically in the last few years backed by favorable agro-climatic conditions and focused government policies. The aggregate export value of fruits and vegetables during the first three quarters of 2021 is 20% higher than 2020 and 23% higher than 2019. The popular export commodities were blueberries (37.9%), coffee (12.2%), asparagus (5.1%), avocado (4.9%), and onion (1.6%). The increase in Peru’s agri-exports was driven by a 24% increase in exports to the EU and the United Kingdom.

Agricultural exports from Peru worth USD 7.8 billion during 2020. The country has been blessed with favorable agro-climatic conditions and focused government policies that have encouraged exports in the last decade. In terms of production, Peru has quadrupled the land devoted to producing high-valued export commodities to almost 200,000 hectares. In the last few years, Peru became the leading exporter of blueberries, asparagus, grapes, mangoes, organic banana, and ginger, among other products. A

Peruvian Agri exports reached USD 1,026 million in September 2021 which is already 32% more than the previous year. Peru’s aggregate export value of fruits and vegetables during the first three quarters of 2021 is 20% higher than 2020. The growth in exports has been driven by blueberries which had a 37.9% share in the export value - followed by coffee (12.2%), asparagus (5.1%), avocado (4.9%), and onion (1.6%). On the other hand, some Peruvian specialties like cocoa (1.3%) and quinoa (0.9%) had very little share in the increased exports volumes.

Peruvian blueberry exports reached 112,078 tons by the beginning of October, reflecting an increase of 59% compared to the same time last year (70,399 tons). The main destinations for Peruvian blueberries were the U.S with a share of 55% in Peru’s exports, growing from 34,525 tons to 61,090 tons in volume. On top of this, Exports to the E.U increased by 32% and China’s exports increased by a whopping 86%. Peru also captured the Indian market through joint work between the public and private sectors and the National Agrarian Health Service of Peru (SENSA) and exported roughly 6.5 tons during the season. The exports were driven by a good blueberry harvest in Peru during the season and a contraction in the prices by at least 8%.

The second most exported commodity - Coffee reached an export value of USD 123 million which is 12% more than the value recorded in 2020. Despite an increase in value, the volume of exports fell by 15% in comparison to the previous as a consequence of the contraction of the Peruvian supply and a subsequent increase in prices. The price paid for Peruvian coffee in this destination was about USD 4.21 per kilogram, 28 % more compared to the previous year. In the European market, the Peruvian bean was quoted at USD 4.23 per kilogram which was 37% higher than that obtained in 2020.

The increase in Peru’s agri-exports was driven by the increased share of the E.U and the United Kingdom. The exports to these two regions increased by 24% in the first four months of 2021 compared to the previous year backed by the post-pandemic economic recovery. With vast and underutilized arable lands, Peru has the opportunity to expand its exports even more to countries in the E.U or even beyond. Moving forward, the country should focus on developing high-value crops which can fetch better prices in the international market and help Peru increase its export volume even more.