After a positive 2022, the Peruvian avocado industry is preparing to export an estimated 624,000 tons of the fruit in the 2023 season.

The forecast by the president of the Peruvian Association of Hass Avocado Producers (ProHass) Juan Carlos Paredes implies an increase of almost 13% year-on-year.

Despite the complex political situation that the country experienced during the last days of 2022, the sector managed to meet the estimates for the end of the season, recording only a delay in shipments due to the influence of La Nina on crops.

Paredes told FreshFruitPortal.com that this growth is the result of the investments that the sector has made in previous years. In addition, there is a significant number of trees that have reached maturity and that would be boosting the current season's production.

"For last season we had very good comments on the quality of the shipments. So, we believe that this year this situation will be similar. The actors who are in this industry already know the product and they are not going to make the mistake of putting out fruit with low dry matter," he said.

International markets

The Peruvian avocado industry is relatively young, with around 15 years of existence, while its global presence barely reaches eight years or so.

For this reason, Juan Carlos Paredes emphasized on the importance of diversifying markets. 

"We have the agreement with Malaysia coming up, which should be finalized in the next few weeks as the sanitary details with SENASA are ready to sign. India and Costa Rica are also in the process," he said.

Additionally, Paredes explains that the U.S. is another destination with enormous potential for Peru.

“The U.S. is a huge market, which could be natural for Peru because it is close, but Mexico’s closeness allows it to have the product on shelves practically two days after harvesting. This makes it a very challenging market for Peruvian avocado. However, we believe that we will have very good receptivity during Mexico's off months, from May to July, which is the peak for us”.

Chile is also a natural market for Peruvian avocado, representing 10-15% of all exports.

"This year in particular Chile has little production, so we estimate that we will have between 15 and 20% of our production with Chile as a destination," said Paredes.