Westfalia Fruit Perú prepares construction of its new packing house in the country

New packing house will be the largest, packing close to 40% of its total production. The company plans to increase its avocado volume by 20% this year. A few weeks before the beginning of the avocado season in Peru, companies are preparing to start harvesting one of the most demanded agricultural products in the world. Westfalia Fruit, which has been present in the country for 14 years, seeks to continue investing in the local market. This was stated by its general manager, Omar Díaz, who revealed that this year they will start the construction of their new packing plant in the country. "We are starting in June so that this new plant will be operational from January 2022; we believe it will be one of the best in the country," said the executive.

The company currently outsources its packaging to six other production plants. The new plant will be located in Cañete and will focus mainly on avocado packing, but will also have a line for citrus and grapes. "In the first stage we will have a capacity of 1,000 containers per year, which corresponds to some 25,000 tons, and depending on how the market advances, we contemplate an expansion of this in a second stage," he said. This will be Westfalia Fruits largest plant in Peru, and here they will pack about 40% of their entire production. He explained that with this investment they are seeking to consolidate their production in southern Peru, where they previously packed from 2 different packing plants.

Avocado market: Avocado is Westfalias flagship product globally and in Peru represents 80% of total exports. "Our production is almost entirely Hass avocado, which is the most demanded in the foreign market," said Diaz. He pointed out that worldwide the demand for this product continues to increase and this trend is projected to continue growing in the coming years. Peru is the second largest avocado producer in the world, after Mexico, which is ahead of us. They produce throughout the year, but in certain key weeks of the season we export almost the same volumes as Mexico, he said. We still have growth potential in Peru for new avocado areas, but as far as possible we must be careful to plant in areas that allow us to extend our export season, he added.

Business model: Instead of working their own land, they work under partnerships with more than 100 small producers. "We provide them with technical assistance, knowledge about cultivation techniques and help them become certified with foreign market requirements," he explained.

For this season, they expect to increase their shipment volume by 20%. Today it exports to 15 countries from Peru and serves the main supermarket chains in the United States.

Source: Gestion