Fresh avocado exports from Westfalia Fruit Peru expected to increase 30% this year

The company is venturing into frozen avocado. Last year it carried out a pilot plan for frozen exports and this year they are already carrying out a commercial program where they expect to export around 900 tons.

(Agraria.pe) Westfalia Fruit Peru, a subsidiary of the multinational Westfalia Fruit Group, plans to export 41,000 tons of fresh avocado (2,000 containers) this year, representing a 30% increase compared to the 34,000 tons (1,600 containers) shipped in 2020. So far this year, the company has already shipped 35% of its supply.

This was stated by the companys general manager, Omar Díaz Marchena, who indicated that this growth is due to the fact that year after year the crop fields are increasing their productive yields due to the fact that they are young plantations.

"We plan to continue increasing production and exports in the coming years, basically because of this and because we are also including new producers in our portfolio of avocado suppliers in the different regions," he said.

He added that his company works with small, medium and large producers located in 14 regions of the country (Lambayeque, La Libertad, Ancash, Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Cusco, Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Cajamarca, among others), totaling around 3,000 hectares. In addition, they lease a 70-hectare field in Chilca (Lima). The company does not have its own areas.

Destination markets: Regarding destination markets, of the total to be shipped (41,000 tons) 50% would go to Europe and the rest to Asia, the United States and a small percentage to Latin America. He also detailed that 95% of the total to be exported corresponds to the Hass variety and the remaining 5% to green-skin avocados.

"We are seeing an increase in consumption in Europe and the United States as a result of the elimination of some restrictions that prevented the movement of people. The Horeca channel (hotels, restaurants and catering), which was closed at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, is also opening up, which is allowing this increase in demand for fruit," he said.

However, he warned that there are logistical challenges in exporting to Asia and, to a lesser extent, to the United States, because ships are not making the frequency of trips they normally did.

Díaz Marchena said that his company has an important presence in Asia (especially in Japan, Korea and China), and they expect avocado consumption in that market to increase year by year. To this end, through the Association of Hass Avocado Producers of Peru (ProHass), they carry out promotional campaigns so that consumers know and bet on this fruit. "It is extremely important to promote avocado consumption in Asia, which we believe will be a powerful market in the future".

In this regard, he said that Peru needs to open new markets and increase avocado consumption in the countries where it is already present, because this crop continues to be planted, and it also has many young orchards whose yields will increase, which will generate a greater supply of this fruit.

"If the political situation remains stable and there are no abrupt measures that affect investments, these will continue to occur and therefore should increase Peru exportable supply in the coming years. There are also many young orchards that will allow us to increase our countrys avocado supply year after year," he said.

Frozen avocado: At another point, the general manager of Westfalia Fruit Peru said that they are moving into frozen avocado. Last year the company carried out a pilot plan for frozen exports and this year they are already carrying out a commercial program. They expect to continue increasing their exports in the IQF segment considering that the multinational Westfalia Fruit Group has global sales channels and can provide support to supply these channels with this product.

This year the company expects to export around 900 tons of frozen avocados to Europe and the United States.

He said that in the coming years the company plans to give greater participation to this line, in order to take advantage of the entire production and have sales channels. "There are no plans to buy avocado exclusively for IQF because we are very rigorous in controlling the entire process of the fruit, from the field to the final destination, so we only use for IQF the fruit that comes from the fields that we sell the fruit for fresh export".

Data: Westfalia Fruit Perú continues to grow in the country, being an alternative for producers, so that they can sell their fruit to different markets, taking advantage of the wide network of sales channels that the multinational Westfalia Fruit Group has at a global level, which helps to have direct sales channels to different supermarket chains worldwide.

The multinational Westfalia Fruit Group is a leading supplier of fresh and processed fruits to international markets, offering a diverse range of high quality fruits and related products through its vertically integrated supply chain. As one of the leaders in the avocado industry, Westfalia Fruit grows, harvests and ripens, packs, processes and markets certified avocados worldwide throughout the year. Westfalia grows fruit in all major source countries in the Americas and Africa and sources fruit from partner orchards, giving it the most diverse avocado growing footprint in the world. The supplier of choice for retailers, food service and distribution Westfalia Fruit operates offices in the UK, Europe, North America, Latin America and Southern Africa. The fruit is packed in various forms and expertly ripened for distribution at optimum eating quality.

Source: Agraria.pe