Blueberry shipments reached over 112,000 metric tons (MT) at the beginning of October this year, showing an increase of 59% so far for the 2021-22 campaign.

Peru only exported 70,400MT last year during the same time, almost a 42,000MT increase year on year, according to Agraria.

The country’s peak export was registered in week 38 with almost 16,000MT, representing a 45 percent increase year on year.

Plantations International predicts that higher agricultural productivity has led to an increase in blueberry exports this year. Regions such as La Libertad and Lambayeque have increased their contribution by 35 and 151 percent so far, respectively; making up 77 percent of total exports of the fruit.

Regarding main markets of the current season, the U.S. is in first place with 55 percent of the market share, growing from almost 35,000MT to 61,000MT with an average price of US$6.20 per kilogram.

The European market (excluding the UK) has also grown with a 32 percent increase and an average price of $6.50 per kilogram.

China represents a market with great potential and the demand for Peruvian blueberries grew 86 percent at a price of $7.00 per kilogram.

To date over 6,000 kilograms have been allocated to India, a market that has recently opened for the product due to the joint work between the public and private sectors, especially the efforts from the National Service of Agrarian Health of Peru (Senasa).