Poor marketing conditions in key Northern Hemisphere markets, coupled with climate change, are having a negative impact on Peru’s agriculture exports this year, according to the Peruvian Exporters Association (Adex).
Shipments fell by 2 per cent to US$202.5m during April, compared with the year-earlier period, Adex.
Peru’s biggest markets also shrunk in April, with sales to the Netherlands down by 19 per cent, followed by France (-11 per cent), Spain (-8 per cent), the UK (-6 per cent) and the US (-4 per cent).
Adex has blamed the result on a contraction in demand for value-added products in the US and some European Union markets, as well as climate change which it claimed has affected the production of some crops in Peru.
Adex agro manager, Alfred Paredes, said the deceleration in Peru’s exports has become clearer during April given that shipments rose by 24 per cent in January, 14 per cent in February and 16 per cent in March.
Within the agricultural export category, Paredes explained that non-traditional exports fell by 2 per cent in April to US$184.2m as a result of sales declines in six of the 11 categories including vegetables.
Vegetable exports fell by 18 per cent to US$52.6m in April against the previous year on the back of a 29 per cent decline in fresh or refrigerated asparagus sales.
Fruit sendings, meanwhile, rose by 0.4 per cent due to the fact that two of the category’s principal products – mangoes and table grapes – are not in season.
However, Paredes pointed out that the 2011/12 Peruvian mango season was affected by high temperatures which impacted flowering and delayed production and harvesting.
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