Peru ag leaders estimate $300M in lost farm shipments

The Association of Agricultural Producers Guild of Peru reported in late January that road blockades by protesters have limited agricultural exports and hammered farmers.

Alejandro Fuentes, president of the group, said in a Jan. 27 post on the group’s website there were more than 70 roads blocked in eight regions of the country. Three weeks of protests have led to the loss of life and shortages of food, domestic gas and fuel, he said. 

Jeff Friedman, president of CarbAmericas, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said on Jan. 31 that earlier protests did cause delays in the marketer’s produce coming out of Peru.

However, protests in late January did not affect the company, as the asparagus season in southern Peru was mostly finished.

"Most of our items are coming out of the north part of the country and the social unrest is not affecting trade and the road system," he said. 

Friedman predicted more turmoil until Peru solves its political problems.

"It's a shame that people are needlessly dying," he said.

As of late in the day on Jan. 31, Tony Pinto, senior director of sourcing for Harvest Sensations, Miami, said that the strikes had hit hard in the southern part of Peru in the past few weeks, mostly in Ica. In Ica, several products are harvested, including asparagus, grapes and pomegranates.

"The strikes caused the asparagus season to end one week earlier [than expected]," he said. 

In addition to the strikes in the south, the port of Paita was closed due to sea conditions, which hastened the end of the season in the north of Peru.

Normally the asparagus season ends in January due to the entrance of Mexico's production in Caborca, and Peru normally returns for asparagus shipments at the end of March. Those late March shipments from Peru should be in good shape, he said.

There were signs of hope that the disruptions may ease, he said.

"The pomegranates are starting today, and the roads have been opened," he said. "Let's hope that everything returns to normal quickly, as the local government is already doing the things the protestors are asking for … new elections and reforms."

John Pandol, director of special projects for Pandol Brothers, Delano, Calif., said Peruvian grape exporters “front-loaded” the season, shipping grapes to the U.S. and storing them there.

“The delays push the harvest and arrivals back, and some vineyards may be lost because they could not harvest fast enough," he said.

“Of concern is the normal [supply] curve will be pushed back and will be in the market simultaneously with the Chilean grapes, which will have a normal and even heavy back half for the first time in four years,” he said.

Shipment numbers reported by the USDA didn’t show a big shortfall in shipments so far this year.

USDA shipment numbers showed that U.S. imports of Peruvian asparagus the week of Jan. 22-28 totaled 6.53 million pounds, up 19% from the same time a year ago.

Season-to-date U.S. imports of Peruvian asparagus totaled 203.4 million pounds through Jan. 28, just 1% lower than a year ago.

U.S. imports of Peruvian grapes totaled 71.8 million pounds the week of Jan. 22-28,  up 20% from the same week last year. Through Jan. 28, season-to-date imports of Peruvian grapes were 413.38 million pounds, up 37% from the same time a year ago.

Bloomberg reported that ag leaders in Peru believe the country has lost about $300 million in farm shipments during eight weeks of violent protests. The protests follow the December impeachment of the country’s former socialist president Pedro Castillo, according to the reports. Castillo, now in pretrial detention, was implicated in several corruption investigations and had tried to illegally dissolve Congress ahead of a planned impeachment vote, Reuters reports. Even so, he retains supporters, especially in left-leaning southern Peru.

Fuentes in the blog post said the disruptions in shipments by protesters add to other grower problems.

“Our sector has been going through a series of problems that have weakened it over the last two years: lack of fertilizers, high freight and input costs, low prices due to the international context, drought, etc. If we add to this the impossibility of moving the fruits to the markets and supply points, we could be leading small and medium producers to extreme poverty," he said in a post.

Fuentes said regions such as Ica and Arequipa are harvesting pumpkins, mangoes, watermelons, onions, white potatoes, pomegranates and other fresh produce.

“The loss of these crops due to stoppages generates irreversible damage to the economy of many families in Peru,” he said in a post.

Industry estimates indicate more than 100,000 workers directly or indirectly involved with the grape industry are at risk from road blockades.

“In Santa Cruz, at the entrance to Paracas, we have carriers with containers of bananas and mangoes that are being lost, and that were bound for the south of the country,” he said. 

“The impact of these protests covers not only the small and medium producer, but it also affects the exporters, plant personnel, harvesters and the entire value chain," he added.

Fuentes said the “paralysis” that the country is going through is unsustainable.

“We need to stop the acts of violence and establish clear and timely dialogue, which allow us to generate compromises and reestablish peace,” he said in the post. "Only through collaboration and willingness to dialogue can we continue to build a better environment for all Peruvians.”