Chile may already be a significant avocado exporter into Argentina, but neighboring Peru has now gained market access and is hoping to take a slice of the action. 

Argentina gave the green light to Peruvian avocado imports a few days ago and an industry head says the new market has strong potential for the future.

"We are very pleased with this market access. We have been trying to get into Argentina for years now," ProHass president Arturo Medina told www.freshfruitportal.com.

"The country is currently not a big consumer of avocados, but we believe that it has a lot of potential. We know that Chile ships some substantial volumes that are growing every year."

Medina said the Peruvian industry was dedicated to boosting consumption in Argentina through promotions, which he added was always necessary with a new market.

"We try to do tastings at the point of sale and they have always gone well," he said.

"We also did a promotional campaign in Chile and we are very happy with the results. Hopefully they can be replicated in Argentina."

Peru's avocado season runs roughly from March until early September.

The representative added that production this year was affected by the El Niño weather phenomenon, which hit the industry's volumes and caused a lot of small-sized fruit. Around 165,000 metric tons (MT) were produced in total.

"That figure is similar to last year. As always our main market has been Europe, followed by the U.S.," he said.

Medina said it was unlikely a trial shipment would be sent to Argentina this year.

China-bound shipments soar

Across the Pacific, around 200 containers were shipped to China this season and a further 50 to Japan.

This year was the first that saw significant volumes sent to China, with only four containers exported last year as market access was gained late in the season.

"We are very happy, we have had good returns for our growers and we think that we are doing things well. We haven't had any problems with quality, and we hope that will differentiate our produce," Medina said.

Photo: www.shutterstock.com

www.freshfruitportal.com