Bananas provide a bright spot in otherwise glum news about Peruvian exports. Last year saw fewer Peruvian products sent abroad, probably due to declines in Asian markets. Nevertheless, exports of bananas, especially of the Cavendish Valery variety, are booming.
2014 was a record year for banana exports. They grew by 34% and provided more than $119 million dollars in earnings, according to the Peruvian Association of Exportesrs, ADEX. Four years earlier, the income from bananas was less than half that amount.
Behind the success is a concerted effort of government and producers to improve cultivations, defeat disease, and open foreign markets. Despite its traditional reliance on raw exports of minerals, for which Peru is one of the world’s great producers, the Peruvian government in recent years has worked to expand non-traditional exports, especially agroindustrial ones.
Peru opened new markets and recovered old markets for its fruit this year. Panama and Finland returned as importers of Peruvian fruit and markets in Ukraine, Macao, and Uganda were added.
The Netherland imported the most, a value of almost 50 million dollars and its demand grew more than 18% over the prior year. The US followed. Its demand increased more than 105% and came to almost 33 million dollars.
Besides fresh fruit, Peruvian exporters are opening markets in other banana products for which they can obtain aggregate value. They sell bananas in processed snacks and as banana chips, as well as in dried forms and as banana flour.
Sources:
La exportación de plátanos y derivados creció un 23% a agosto, http://gestion.pe/noticia/349083/exportacion-platanos-derivados-crecio-23-agosto
Exportaciones de plátanos registran cifra récord, http://www.elperuano.com.pe/edicion/noticia-exportaciones-platanos-registran-cifra-record-26759.aspx#.VPMku0Zko1g
La exportación de plátanos en Perú alcanzó cifra récord en 2014, http://www.americaeconomia.com/negocios-industrias/la-exportacion-de-platanos-en-peru-alcanzo-cifra-record-en-2014
