An experienced Chilean fruit grower with a patented fruit packing method designed for long-haul trips, Jorge Lampe embarked on establishing an export-oriented plant in northern Peru in 2010. He found the adjacent land at the Olmos facility was ideal for table grape production, and with organic aspirations he named his company Zeit Organisch; a reference to his German heritage. Now his operation's potential has been given an extra boost with Odebrecht's large-scale irrigation works up and running nearby.

"Whenever I spoke to people from around Peru before they'd say fruit and vegetable production wasn't developed in Olmos because there simply wasn't enough water," says Lampe.

"There is underground water, but the problem is that the electricity wasn't there and you had to pump, and that makes any medium-level investment much more expensive. For those in the community, those with four or five hectares and limited resources, it's complicated."

In contrast, Lampe has two wells but he is happy to have the Olmos Irrigation Project on hand for when he needs more water, as his land falls under the initiative's 5,500 hectares slated for social projects.

"The canal behind us did not have water before; it only had water for a few months of the year when it rained, and people had to plant according to that," he says.

"Now all the year we'll be able to see crops like passionfruit or corn because the water is there.

"The production is growing exponentionally here. That's very unusual and it's because of the generosity of the climate," he adds, highlighting his belief the conditions are even better than in the horticultural hub of Ica further south.

Lampe's plant can source a range of export fruits and vegetables, and given the area's production profile he has put an emphasis on mangoes and avocados in addition to his own grape cultivation. For mangoes however, this campaign has not been as volume-intensive as the previous due to El Niño factors further north.

"Piura [to the north] is a good area but if it rains in Chiclayo [to the south] for example, Piura might get 30% more rain.

"In the case of grapes, avocados and mangoes, excess rain is a problem and something you have to manage. But you can manage it."

Aside from its "beautiful" climate, Lampe chose his farm's location as it is right next to the town of Olmos itself, meaning workers can access the property by foot or by bicycle.

"But nothing comes for free. You have to work hard and there is a lot of experimenting to be done because no country is the same," he says.

Zeit Organisch owner Jorge Lampe

Lampe has also used Zeit Organisch as an opportunity to use a packing method he developed, which he says is now used by some of Chile's leading fruit exporters. Essentially it involves the use of cooling tunnels for the fruit as soon as it enters the facility, rather than the common technique of bringing the temperature down after selection, packing and palletization.

"Throughout the whole process we select fruit, classifying according to quality and weight, and when it’s being weighed everything is done at a temperature of 17-19°C (62.6-66.2°F)," he says.

"Then it goes into a high-performance tunnel that cools the grapes, without any elements. This is before palletization.

"Why isn't this done generally? Because the United States is industrialized and the U.S. sends the majority of its fruit to the domestic market – they don't have to cool as quickly because it's consumed quickly."

He says his method carries an added benefit that the fruit is exposed to fewer elements and materials, thus cooling faster than when it is inside pallets.

"It's classified and put in the tunnel. There is no obstacle to cooling."

The entrepreneur clarifies that while his specific techniques are patented, he has met European growers who engage in similar cooling tunnel practices.

An organic path

Don't let the name fool you. Zeit Organisch is not organically certified, but Lampe intends to achieve an organic operation and is starting with organic applications later in cultivation to meet the strict pesticide residue standards of northern markets for conventional fruit.

Additionally, Lampe says organic exporters would be well-placed using his facility as Zeit Organisch uses ammonia glycol, which he claims is more environmentally-friendly than other coolers used in the industry.

"Glycol ammonia is used a lot in chambers for the fermentation of wine grapes," he says.

"In Europe almost everything is moving toward glycol ammonia – it's much more biological if you've got organic fruit.

"I have 28 years of experience and that works in my favor. If you want to grow organic fruit in Peru, the best plant to process it is mine."

Lampe also thinks organic production is more difficult in Peru than Chile due to a need for the artificially induced sprouting of buds, but says the process is easier now that this can be done with organic fertilizers.

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