The head of Peruvian grower and shipper Compañía de Exportación y Negocios Generales S.A. (Coexa) has been recognized as 'Agricultural Exporter of the Year' by the country's Association of Exporters (ADEX). 

Coexa general manager Fernando Bustamante was presented with the award at ADEX's recent XVI Agricultural Exporters Lunch, 25 years after he was first given the prize.

Bustamante received the award largely due to his company's innovation over the years, and as he helped boost production and exports of tangelos from the country, which now reportedly make up 16% of citrus shipments.

Coexa also grows and exports asparagus, Tahiti limes, grapefruit, mandarins, oranges and table grapes.

Speaking to www.freshfruitportal.com, Bustamante said he was delighted to have been given the prize for a second time, adding that it was a huge encouragement to continue innovating and pushing for excellence.

"In the year 1990 we received this award for the frist time, and to receive it again 25 years later is very significant because it is an acknowledgement of the effort and dedication of Coexa's 650 workers," he said.

"It will also serve as a source of motivation to continue working with resolve and dedication to continue innovating and leading the sector."

Bustamante noted the Peruvian agricultural industry had undergone tremendous changes in the last three decades, and with Coexa being the only company in the country to export table grapes when it first started up in 1983.

He also said there were several substantial challenges the company had to overcome in its first few years of operation, but by everyone working together within the company, Coexa was able to come out on top.

"In its 33 years, Coexa has had to deal with various different situations, many of them difficult ones, like the terrorism and hyperinflation of 7000% there was during the end of the 1980s, the cholera pandemic at the beginning of the 1990s, the el Niño phenomenon in 1997 and 1998, and the earthquake and flooding in Ica," Bustamante said.

"However, we learned to overcome these obstacles in an efficient manner. In the future there will of course continue to be difficult moments, but all we can do is be prepared and take the years as they come."

Coexa has also been undertaking significant research and development since its establishment, continuing to plant new citrus varieties and improving technology in packhouses and processing operations, where almost everything is now automated.

Bustamante also praised the Agriculture Promotion Law that was passed in 1998 that he said hugely benefitted the industry and encouraged investment, but he added more investment was needed in the country to improve water infrastructure.

"There are large areas of land on the coast that will be fit for agricultural production once investments are made to bring over water that is currently being lost in the mountains in the east of the country," he said.

"But for that we will need a 20-year extension of the Agricultural Promotion Law. That would generate lots of investment and hundreds of thousands of jobs."

He also noted how the Peruvian agricultural sector in general was undergoing significant improvements in terms of farm management and practices, with which a growing number of companies were able to achieve certifications like GlobalG.A.P.

"We’ve had technicians over the last 20 years from lots of countries, from Chile, the U.S., Spain, and South Africa, and lots of agronomists in Peru who have been doing research and development, and what it’s meant is that the quality of the production has greatly improved."

www.freshfruitportal.com