AGAP: avocado exports fell US$ 100 million in the first half of 2022

Avocado exports fell from US$618 million in the first half of 2021 to US$518 million in the first six months of this year; however, the volume of shipments remained the same and went from 303,955 tons to 307,173 in the same period, reported the Association of Agricultural Producers Guilds of Peru (AGAP).

The decline in the turnover level is related to the low price of the product in Europe due to the high production of Mexico, Spain and South Africa. This, added to the drop in shipments to Asia as a result of China’s logistical problems and the effects of the war in Ukraine, pushed the price of avocados to fall 17% by June 2022, the business association said.

In the analysis period, there was also a decrease of US$ 20 million in mango shipments, which went from US$ 228 million in June of last year to US$ 208 million in the same month of 2022. The contraction, in addition , was reflected in the export volume that fell from 182,697 tons in 2021 to 169,112 in 2022.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

The negative figures are shared by shipments of organic bananas, tangerines, onions, peas and asparagus. In the case of the latter, the decline was influenced by low prices in the US and cost overruns due to fumigation at destination and high airfreight, says AGAP.

In general, the union also associates negative results with local factors such as political crisis, government instability; as well as the loss of competitiveness in the transversal agrarian regulation. This added to the mistrust of economic agents and inflation.

Positive performance of blueberries

In the first half of 2022, there was an increase of US$ 80 million in blueberry exports and they rose from US$ 67 million in 2021 to US$ 147 this year; while the sales volume more than doubled to 25,333 tons.

The positive performance in this crop is due to the introduction of varieties with high production and low cost per kilo in fertilization and labor, explained Alejandro Fuentes, president of AGAP during a conference on the situation of the Peruvian agricultural sector.

In the first six months of this year, grape shipments also grew and approached US$600 million, and the volume exported exceeded 240,000 tons.

Within the framework of the actions carried out by AGAP to promote the agro-export sector, the union launched the campaign “Stories that unite us”, which brings together more than 50 testimonies from workers, agricultural producers and suppliers as fundamental pieces in the development of Peruvian agribusiness and, therefore, of the entire agricultural sector of our country.

The initiative aims to make visible the role that each of these people plays in the chain and its impact on the development of the agriculture of the future and its competitiveness, and to make the State aware of the importance of continuing to promote the sector.

The News in Charts is a collection of stories from the industry complemented by charts from Agronometrics to help better tell their story.

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