Exiting a crop and adjusting to new ones is not always easy, but Peruvian agri-exporter Camposol is optimistic for higher margins in the future.

The effects of the company's announced pull-out from the preserved asparagus business last year could be felt in sales in the second quarter of 2016, with a 42% drop in volume sold for the crop.

Sales also fell for peppers, artichokes and grapes, leading to a 6.1% sales decline overall to US$54 million.

This speaks highly of pricing however, as sales volume fell even further at a rate of 16.3% to 17,597 net metric tons (MT), also explained by fewer avocados, shrimp and other seafood products.

Meanwhile, EBITDA was down 14.6% to US$6.1 million, explained by the lower sales and also higher administrative and selling expenses.

Despite the slightly lower profit, gross margins were quite strong for Camposol's high-growth categories, such as avocados (40.8%), blueberries (39.2%) and mangoes (20.1%); combined, these three crops accounted for 55% of revenue, and that percentage is expected to grow in the years to come.

The picture was much rosier for the first half of the year, with EBITDA up 60.3% at US$13.9 million.

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