As is generally known, the weather continues to have adverse consequences for the entire agricultural sector. In the specific case of Peruvian avocados, the harvest that kicked off more than a month ago suffered an unexpected delay, causing in turn a later start of exports. "We are starting with the avocado campaign, but the weather phenomenon known as El Niño has taken a toll on the development of the fruit, which didn't reach the required level of ripeness at the usual time. Our exports have also been delayed by this; even though prices are favourable, we cannot ship the fruit if it is not ready," states Alfredo Paulett, of AG Natural Perú.
Another reason for these late exports is that this year the government agency SENASA, in partnership with the association Prohass, has decided to implement additional quality controls for the fruit. This entails that inspectors of the Peruvian health authority will carry out more controls before the departure of the containers. Consequently, any deficiencies in the quality or ripeness level of the avocados will result in the retention of the batch.
"The price that the foreign markets are paying for Peruvian avocados is very good, and without this control, a much greater volume would have already been shipped by exporters who, thinking only about the good price, would have harvested the fruit before it was ready. This is something that happened in past years; the fruit was harvested as quickly as possible before it was properly ripe, to the detriment of its quality, thus potentially jeopardising the good reputation of Peruvian avocados. These control measures, although tedious, are educating the exporters and are helping create a new philosophy, guaranteeing the supply of high quality avocados and protecting the trust placed in our products," stresses Paulett.
