Peruvian pecan purchase price doubles, but export to China still faces many challenges
The General Administration of Customs of China issued an announcement on the inspection and quarantine requirements for the export of Peruvian pecans to China in early December. It is expected that Peruvian pecans will soon enter the Chinese market.
Currently, there are 3,700 hectares of pecan orchards in Peru, and the scale is slowly increasing at 50-70 hectares per year. Among them, 1,500 hectares (about 41%) of the orchards are concentrated in the Ica region, followed by Chincha with about 400 hectares and Pisco with about 250 hectares.
Ysmael García, technical manager of the Peruvian Pecan Union, said that the temperature difference between day and night in the Ica region is large, which is suitable for the growth of pecans. In 2017, the production of Peruvian pecans reached about 1,000 tons. In 2020, the production was affected by the new crown epidemic, and the output fell to 292 tons, and in 2021 it was 312 tons. The export volume in 2023 will recover to about 500-600 tons.
Ysmael García believes that Peruvian pecans' access to the Chinese market will bring huge benefits to nut producers. It is expected that the purchase price of pecans will increase and the growth rate of fruit tree planting will double. Before the announcement, the field purchase price of pecans was only 10-12 soles/kg (about 19.4-23.3 yuan/kg), and it immediately rose to 18-20 soles (34.9-38.8 yuan/kg) after the announcement. However, the Peruvian industry still has many challenges to be solved, the most important of which is the lack of cooperation among farmers.
Peruvian pecans are mainly grown by small farmers, and most growers have orchards between 5-10 hectares. Most producers are between 50-70 years old and have only basic or secondary education. Next, farmers need to change from working alone to cooperation so that the harvested pecans can be supplied to large companies instead of continuing to sell them to small-scale buyers.
At the same time, Peru lacks formal companies engaged in pecan planting and export, and many companies do not last long. The three main companies that still exist are: Agro Export Topara (exporting organic certified nuts to Germany since 2000, with a planting area of about 50 hectares), Proagro (Agroindustriales SAC, also engaged in blueberry, grape and avocado business, with a planting area of about 20 hectares) and the representative family enterprise Santhome (with a planting area of about 50 hectares). Ysmael García said that the above companies are the only ones that can complete the entire production cycle, from planting and picking to processing and export, while other companies are just buyers. "
Hong Kong, China is the largest market for Peruvian pecans, with 86% of exports sold to Hong Kong, and the rest exported to Germany, Central America and other countries. 98% of the pecans produced in Peru are Mahan varieties, 1% are Stuart, and 1% are other varieties. The Chinese market likes the appearance of the Mahan variety, with an oval shell and pointed ends, and this variety is also easy to peel.
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