Europe is the main export destination, with 70% of shipments.
According to a report from the Chamber of Commerce of Lima (IDEXCAM-CCL), organic banana exports could increase by up to 5% this year over the previous year, reporting some 175 million dollars. In the last two years, exports have experienced a continuous increase, adding up to 148.5 million dollars in 2017 and 167 million dollars in 2018. The main destinations are Europe, which concentrates up to 70% of shipments, the United States, and South Korea.
“There are very interesting markets for organic bananas where we don’t send very large export volumes, such as Canada, Japan, Korea, and China. Exporters should focus on them,” said Carlos Posada, the executive director of the Research and Development Institute of Foreign Trade of Idexcam-CCL. All these countries have trade agreements with Peru, so exports to these destinations are not subject to tariffs.
Last year, Canada received just 1% of Peruvian exports of organic bananas; Japan, 3%, and South Korea, 6%. In addition, there are no significant shipments to China, according to the Agrodata Peru website.
To increase the shipments of organic bananas, the private sector should have a greater interest in shipping to these markets and the public sector should improve the promotion of this product, Posada added.
Source: Selene Rosales, Gestion
Translation: Freshplaza