Peru grape exports will increase slightly, USDA reports

Peruvian grape exports in the 2023-24 marketing year will increase by 2%, according to a new USDA report.

Grape production is forecast to reach 775,500 metric tons in the 2023-24 marketing year (October through September), up 1% compared with the previous season, according to the report.

Peruvian grape exports are forecast to reach a record 595,000 metric tons in 2023-24, 2% higher than the previous year.

The U.S. will continue to be the lead export market for Peruvian grapes, the report said.

The report said an unexpectedly warmer winter, heavy rains, flooding and economically paralyzing political unrest did little to hinder Peruvian grape production this past marketing year.

“Moreover, the drought conditions of an ongoing El Niño weather phenomena will have little impact in the southern, grape-producing region of Peru around the city of Ica,” the report said.

Cyclone Yaku hit Peru in early March 2023, bringing heavy winds, torrential rains, high waves, storm surges, increased river flows and floods for 40 days. El Niño conditions followed after Yaku, the report said, elevating ambient temperatures 7.2 degrees F (4 degrees C) above the maximum temperature average.

“This temperature phenomenon impacted the development and recovery of grape vines after harvest, especially in the north around the city of Piura,” the report said.

With a higher humidity and warmer environment, Peruvian grapes around Piura became susceptible to fungal disease and negatively impacting the weight of harvested fruit. According to the Peruvian government’s El Niño monitoring system, warm conditions are more likely to persist into February 2024 with projections that the El Niño intensity could be strong (49%) to moderate (47%), according to the report.

Grape production is primarily located in Ica (43%) and Piura (30%) and the total area under cultivation is estimated at 86,500 acres, the report said.

The harvesting season in Peru begins in late October and ends in April moving from north to south. Due to weather conditions, the harvest season for the 2023-24 season started 14 to 20 days early, the report said.

“With innovative technological management, the Piura region is achieving the double harvest, meaning having product in March/April and November/December,” the report said. 

White/green and red/black seedless grape varieties are split 50-50 in area of production, with a 15% increase of white seedless in comparison with 2022-23, the report said.

The five biggest varieties are red globe (30%), Sweet Globe (22%), Autumn Crisp (9%), Allison (7%) and crimson (5%), the report said. 

Exports strong

Peruvian grape exports for 2023-24 are forecast at 595,000 metric tons, according to the report, 2% above the previous season.

The U.S. was the top export destination in the calendar year 2022 with exports reaching 250,814 metric tons, followed by the Netherlands with 74,949 metric tons and Mexico with 35,083 metric tons.

For the marketing year 2022-23 (September through October), U.S. imports of Peruvian grapes totaled  $799.3 million, up 17% from the previous season, according to USDA numbers.

Peru accounted for 35% of total U.S. grape import value in 2022-23, USDA numbers show.

For the 2023-24 season, a game changer for table grape farms in the south (Ica and Arequipa) is the weekly express service from the Port of Pisco, the report said.

The Pisco Port located in the Ica area began moving grapes on Nov. 9, bridging the port of Ica with the U.S. through transshipment in Panama (to Savannah, Ga., Philadelphia and Los Angeles), Manzanillo (Mexico), Vancouver (Canada) and northern Europe (Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Amberes, France).

Transit days on average will be 12 days to Philadelphia, 18 to Mexico, 22 to Los Angeles, 20 days to Rotterdam and 30 days to Vancouver, the report said.

The port is expected to host between 9,000 to 11,000 20-foot equivalent unit (New Panamax) ship capacity. 

“This service will save time, cost of transportation (avoiding products to transit to Callao a 50 Km-31 miles — ride in 12 to 24 hours), impacting on the better performance and quality of the Peruvian table grape,” the report said.

The $240 million Pisco Port modernization project took three years to complete, the report said.

For 2024-25, the multipurpose Peoples Republic of China Chancay Port is under construction and could be operational for grapes beginning in November 2024, the report said.

Chancay Port is in Lima, 35 miles (60 kilometers) from the Callao Port, bringing an alternative to Peru’s main port in terms of traffic and storage capacity, the report said.

“According to official information the Chancay Port will reduce shipments to Asia increasing the competitiveness of Peru’s foreign trade operations,” the report said.