Peru is expected to export 287,000 tons of blueberries this season, worth 1.4 billion US dollars, surpassing grapes to become the fruit with the highest export value in Peru.

From the beginning of the production season in June 2022 to mid-March 2023, Peru will export a total of 283,000 tons of fresh blueberries, an increase of 30% compared to the same period in the 2021/22 production season. According to Fernando Cillóniz, president of consultancy firm Inform@cción, the window for Peruvian blueberry exports is getting longer and longer and can last from June to March and peak in September and October. Since 2016, Peru has added about 3,000 hectares of blueberries every year. It is expected that by the end of this year, the area under Peruvian blueberry cultivation will be close to 20,000 hectares. In the 2023/24 production season, Peru is expected to export 330,000-350,000 tons of fresh blueberries.

As of mid-March in the 2022/23 production season, China is the third largest market for Peruvian blueberries in the world, after the United States (152,000 tons) and the Netherlands (65,000 tons). China's imports reached 37,000 tons, accounting for 13% of Peru's total exports.

Luis Miguel Vegas, general manager of Proarándanos (Peruvian Blueberry Producers and Exporters Association), said the season has been full due to price pressure due to oversupply in Europe, higher production and transport costs, and political and social unrest in Peru. challenge. He emphasized that while Peruvian blueberry production continues to grow, the industry needs to step up its promotion efforts in key countries such as the US and China to stop prices from falling further.

It is known that as many as 62 blueberry varieties are currently being registered or developed, and the research focus is on how to achieve higher and more stable yields. From the perspective of taste, Peruvian growers are focusing on developing blueberry varieties with high hardness, large size, sweet taste, crispness and can withstand long-term refrigerated transportation. At the same time, the Peruvian blueberry industry is still exploring packaging that can be free of fungi and pathogens to extend the shelf life of blueberries.