From the beginning of 2024 until the end of week 36 (September 8), Peru exported 23,509 containers of Hass avocado (of 21.5 tons each), which meant a drop of 11 percent compared to the 26,377 containers shipped in the same period of the previous year, according to Agraria, quoting the president of the Association of Producers of Hass Avocado of Peru (ProHass), Juan Carlos Paredes Rosales.
This drop in volume is due to the excessive heat recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, which altered the biological cycle of the plant, he said.
“Those who suffered the most damage were the producers on the north coast of the country, where approximately 45 percent of the avocado hectares are located. Most of them have obtained only 50 percent of the fruit they produced in 2023. To this we must add that 30 percent of what was harvested has been small-sized avocados,” said Paredes Rosales.
He stressed that despite the drop in volume, it was less than that estimated by his representative at the beginning of the current campaign (a decrease of around 16 percent was expected).
He said that this is explained because “other exporters” (which are not part of ProHass) have had a significant increase in their production. These producers, located mainly in the Andean area, represent a significant volume of around 7,000 containers.
This year the price of Peruvian avocados in the international market has been steady and has not registered the drastic rises and falls that occur in other years.
Regarding the destinations of the Hass avocado, the main market continues to be Europe, which normally acquires 70 percent of the Peruvian supply, but this year its share fell to 60 percent (14,506 containers), since the volumes to that destination were reduced by 8 percent.
Next is the U.S., which acquired around 12 percent of the total (2,821 containers), showing a reduction in its purchases in the order of 10 percent. In the case of Asia, shipments grew but the volumes are lower compared to those shipped to Europe and the US.
This year was a year of low production for Hass avocado in Peru due to the weather, which means that the plant is resting and preparing for 2025. If there are no extraordinary events in weather, there would be a year of high production, which would break a record in export volume again.
“The weather conditions are proving favorable for avocado crops, which will regularize the normal production of avocados with the usual quality (especially on the north coast). The biological cycle of the avocado is already taking place without setbacks, and it is expected that the flowering, setting and growth of avocado fruits will normalize”, said Paredes Rosales.
The good weather would be added to the entry into production of young plants. He pointed out that in 2023 there were 67,000 hectares of Hass avocado in our country, of which around 14,000 hectares are young plants that have not yet reached maturity, which is why he believes that Hass avocado production in our country will continue to grow.
