Peruvian pomegranate season began with lower-than-normal volumes, with the sector registering a 10% drop in exports to almost 80,000,000 pounds (around 40,000 tons) for 2022-23, Agraria.pe reports.

"At the beginning of the campaign there were good prices for early pomegranate that is supplied with the supply from Arequipa, but now the volumes are leveling product of the fruit of Ica," said Fernando Cillóniz, president of the consulting firm Inform@cción.

However, Cillóniz said that, as of the last two months, volumes have leveled off.

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For May 2023, the executive estimated that at the end of the month the volumes would be similar year-on-year.

Markets for Peruvian pomegranate have complicated since 2022 due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, two of the main destinations of this fruit.

Despite this, Cillóniz stressed that other markets such as China and the U.S., which consume large volumes of pomegranate, are offering better prices.

The main destinations for Peruvian pomegranate are the Netherlands, U.S., Russia, UK, Canada, United Arab Emirates, among others.