bananas

Exports of organic bananas from Peru rose by 25.4 per cent in volume to 16,997 tonnes during the first two months of the year, according to consulting firm Maximize and reported by Andina.

In value terms, the sendings increased 30.2 per cent to some US$10.5m, of which the Cavendish Valery represented US$9.1m, up by 45.5 per cent against the year earlier period.

The bulk of shipments were destined for the Netherlands (accounting for 44.4 per cent of the total), followed by Japan (36.2 per cent) and Belgium (18.5 per cent).

Although bananas have been grown in northern Peru for some time, the production and export of organic banana is a recent activity, Andina said.