According to Alfonso Velasquez, the president of Sierra and Selva Exportadora, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (Minagri), Peru's third biggest export product next year will be blueberries and they will help increase the country's export supply.
"In 2017, the Peruvian blueberry will be the country's third biggest export product. We also hope that the jungle blueberry, the açaí, has a presence in the international market," he said to the Andina news agency.
He stated that the success of the Peru Berries program in the Andean region had allowed for expansion of their production and exports, so said portfolio will seek to implement it in açaí.
"The forest also has a berry :the açaí, a fruit from the huasai palm, which the Conservera Amazonica de Iquitos company has been exporting for a few years," he said.
To boost açaí exports, he said, his portfolio held talks with the aforementioned company to start working together because they have 5 million seedlings of huasaí palms available for investors and producer groups, which will allow them to generate a productive revolution, as what happened in Brazil.
Cosmetics
He also stressed the importance of boosting açaí exports because it was a fruit that had great potential in the cosmetic sector because the fruit's oil, the most powerful antioxidant in nature, was used in beauty products; generating an economic movement of 530 billion dollars annually.
The head of Sierra and Selva Exportadora also highlighted the work carried out by the Research Institute of the Peruvian Amazon (IIAP) regarding the camu camu and different coffee varieties from the Amazon territory. He then added that there were more products from the forest that had great potential in international markets.
"We're going to work with all the oriental fruits, such as the aguaje, and we'll also develop land aquaculture, where the paiche, the gaminata, and the paco will be the fastest growing varieties," he said.
Regarding the sacha inchi, he said they needed to improve the seed's genetic material to increase production, which would have a major impact on San Martin, the Amazons, Ucayali, Madre de Dios, and Loreto. He also said that France, Korea, and Japan were potential markets for this nut.
