After weeks of political turmoil, the difficulties faced by the Peruvian exports sector are also making waves in Europe.
With protests and roadblocks obstructing the main roads, the industry is currently facing many logistic challenges.
Corné van de Klundert, managing director at Rotterdam-based Origin Fruit Direct, spoke to FreshFruitPortal.com about the 2023 grape shipping volumes as the importer firm navigates these issues.
Although the start of the season was slow, van de Klundert said that the South American country is catching up and that the company is expecting volumes similar to last year’s.
“The main problem we are facing in Peru are the political demonstrations that are blocking the roads to the port, which are delaying the exports and in some cases, crops are lost because they cannot be harvested,” the executive noted.
Consumers in Europe are facing severely increased cost of living and grapes are not a necessity, which according to van de Klundert has led to less demand for the product.
“Due to the short supply From Brazil, Peru and South Africa, prices have been relatively high from November until the end of January. This was needed to cover the costs for the growers, but retailers are complaining about reduced sales,” he explained.
Regarding varieties for the European market, he notes that the firm has seen a rise in interest for newer cultivars.
“We see every year the percentage share of new varieties increasing. The main development is in white seedless, where from Peru and South Africa the volumes of Sweet Globe are increasing rapidly, followed by Autumn Crisp”, said van de Klundert.
Origin Fruit Direct is seeing increased arrival volumes for February and March, so the company does expect a reduction in prices, which they hope to leverage in order to attract more sales.
“The reduction in sea freight costs and a strengthening of the Euro will also make the price more accessible for the European customers”, the executive said.
