Peru’s agricultural products opened up new exports destinations in 2010, including Argentina, Japan, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil, and greater access to the world’s markets is again on the cards for this year, according to the National Service for Agrarian Health (Senasa).

Such access included Kent mangoes to Japan, cold-treated citrus to Chile and fresh flowers to Argentina, Senasa chief Oscar Domínguez was quoted as saying in a report by Andina.

The southern Peruvian regions of Arequipa, Tacna and Moquegua also succeeded in gaining access to Chile for Fuerte and Hass avocado varieties; while Ica, Lima and La Libertad can now ship the Hass variety to the neighbouring South American country.

Uruguay was another nation to allow the entry of Peruvian Hass avocados to its market last year, while Brazil permitted access for Peruvian onions as of 8 November.

Last year phytosanitary officials from Mexico, Thailand and the Republic of Korea also visited Peru in November to evaluate the country’s production sites and packhouses for table grapes as well as Senasa’s certification systems.

During early 2011 Peru is also due to send studies to Japan in an effort to open up the market to Peruvian citrus and table grapes, according to a separate report by Andina.

Senasa’s Mr Domínguez said the research aims to show the effectiveness of cold treatment on the two fruits while remaining within the protocol parameters set by Japanese authorities.

“The study concerns Satsuma mandarins, tangelos and Red Globe grapes. The export sector is translating it in order to send to the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Maff),” Mr Domínguez told Andina.

Japan is the second most important market in Asia, after China, which in September 2009 opened its market of more than 1.3bn consumers to Peruvian citrus.

Senasa has also been coordinating, through the Peruvian Embassy in Japan, the validation (by Japanese phytosanitary authorities) of a study developed with the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) which shows that Peruvian Hass avocados do not play host to fruit fly.

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