Several challenges were anticipated for the 2024-2025 blueberry season in Peru, all stemming from the consequences of El Niño, which led to a drop in production last year.

Pruning usually marks the beginning of the season, but this year it has been delayed. Overall, the country has had a slow start, although ProArándanos has already announced an expected increase in volume.

Agroindustrial Beta manages more than 5,500 hectares in the north and south of the country, cultivating asparagus, grapes, blueberries, pomegranates, avocados, mandarins, mangoes, and cherries. The corporation’s assistant agricultural manager, Eduardo Flores, noted that their three blueberry operations cover a total of 960 hectares.

"Here at Beta in the north, we experienced a delay of about two and a half weeks with blueberries. After finishing the 2023-2024 season, we began closing harvest fields at the end of January, and our pruning started in the first week of February. Given the circumstances, I would say that was relatively early, especially considering that some companies continued harvesting into March and April because they had not met their projected volumes, and prices were still good,” says Flores.

Flores noted that last year, blueberries achieved record turnover over the past five years. Blueberry companies did not have enough time in the year to meet their projected volumes, leading many to extend the harvest into February, March, and even April.

“Normally, here in the north, at Beta we start pruning the fields on January 15. Since we got off schedule this time, we started harvesting the third week of July and happily, we haven't had any problems. We had less volume than last year at those times, but now that we are in week 38, we are climbing to our peak; we even have fields with production peaks close to 1500 kg per hectare per day. Last year, in mid-September we were at 800 or 900 kg per hectare. We are aware that we are two and a half weeks behind, but we are already very close to reaching the volumes we are used to at Beta”, he warns.

Due diversification

Flores noted that 2023 is not a good year for comparisons. However, 2022 was an excellent year, not only for Beta but for all blueberry agro-exporters.

So, what are the prices like for the 2024-2025 season? He responds: “Prices are very promising. Over the past four or five weeks, they have been above $8 per kilo, sometimes reaching $10 in the U.S. and European markets. The game-changer, however, is Asia, where we are seeing prices of $12 to $14, depending on the quality of the fruit. In the north, where we have high volumes, we aim for even more because the profitability will be much higher. Currently, there are fewer blueberries available. September remains a low month for Peru, but everyone expects production to surge in October, and that's when prices will inevitably drop.”

In Ica, in the south, Beta has 350 hectares of blueberries, and unlike the north, Ica had a very successful year in terms of production. “I believe the company's success lies in maintaining balance. In recent years, climate changes have affected either the north or the south, but never both at the same time. This is very interesting. The management and board of directors have worked to balance production between the northern and southern fields.”

Eduardo Flores makes a comparison and says that at Beta, 2022, in the north they got around 16 or 17 million kilos; last year, around 13 million.

“And this year we are aiming for 20 million kilos. If the weather lets us work, it is going to be a record blueberry production for Peru in 2024; the north has faltered a bit due to a water deficit, since four weeks ago; I believe that in the next four weeks, we are going to be able to know how much the impact was. But if the plants behave well and have been able to withstand this water reduction if it is not a record, we will be close to achieving it; I think it could be 20% or 30% more than in 2022.”