Peru’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Juan Carlos Mathews estimated on January 8, 2024 that national exports in 2023 would equal 2022’s. One of these exports is avocados, of which the minister said Peru ranks second worldwide.
Mathews’ projections echo a rise by 9% in total avocado exports from January to September 2023 in comparison to 2022.
By September, Peru’s avocado shipments to 36 nations had raked in $953 million, above the $874 million of January to September, 2022.
Similar to monetary returns, the quantities worth 594,778 metric tonnes also registered a 3% growth in the same market period.
The Netherlands received the bulk of avocado exports from Peru worth $293 million or 30.7% of all shipments. The United States, which partitions avocado imports between Peru and Mexico, came in third after Spain, at $135 million.
El Niño Effects
This improvement is despite a slight dip in August 2023 due to adverse weather effects that preceded the El Niño weather phenomenon. During that month, production fell to 45,041 metric tonnes or 6.9% below August 2022’s volumes due to dry conditions.
Analysts cite that Peru’s avocado crop in 2024 may also suffer physiological development from much precipitation.
Furthermore, the January to March 2024 El Niño rains will coincide with the harvest season. While the Fuerte variety is usually ready before March, the Hass cultivar matures from March through June.
When presenting the export estimates, minister Mathews stated that El Niño negatively impacted fruit production and fisheries in 2023.
In the sea, rising warm currents from the Pacific lowered fish catches due to lack of plankton and seaweed for fish.
Despite this weather backlash, the minister takes pride that Peru still ranks “number one in grapes, blueberries and aparagus.” The South American nation is also a world leader in organic banana and coffee.
Peru was the 21st biggest exporter in the world for agricultural and non-agricultural goods in 2022.