This year, the avocado market has seen record volumes from Mexico and a third straight year of California eclipsing the 300 million-pound mark, so there is no shortage of fruit for the U.S. market.

That has led to a slow start for Peru, according to Isabel Tavera, vice president of Pacific Produce, who told The Produce News on May 25 that just 194 containers of Peruvian avocados had shipped to date compared to 1,124 containers the same time last year. 

“Mexico has filled that space this year, so there is not a lot of demand for Peru in May for the open market right now,” she said. “However, as the end of the Mexican crop approaches, we are starting to see more demand for Peru, and the programs and requests are now coming.”

Tavera said the initial growth projection for Peru was expected to be 6 percent this year, but high temperatures in northern Peru are affecting sizing, leading to fewer overall kilos. This has led to re-evaluating strategy for the origin.

“We’re going to focus on markets that bring results, and for Peru that means more will be sent to Europe,” she said. “But we do want to maintain market share in the U.S. so we’re working proactively with buyers to offer programs that generate stability and value during the summer.”

For the U.S. market, Tavera said Pacific Produce is taking feedback from customers to heart and responding accordingly.

“Some of the feedback we heard from customers is that Peruvian fruit takes too long to ripen, and they are looking for triggered fruit that will ripen more quickly,” she said. “They are also looking for a higher oil content, and so growers are striving to increase the minimum oil content to 22-25 percent. These are important factors for Peru to maintain its status in the U.S. market.”

She added that weather conditions in Peru also have had an effect on fruit sizing. “Smaller fruit is maturing more quickly and needs to be harvested. But it is in our favor because the U.S. market is loving the 60 [size] fruit. Larger sizes like 40 and 48 will be coming later in the season from the south.”

Despite any perceived challenges, Tavera said Pacific will be pushing Peru in the coming years since it plays an important role in the company’s growth plans.

“Peru remains an important piece of the puzzle for us,” she said, adding that Pacific Produce has made investments in its avocado operations. “We expect Guatemala to receive approval for U.S. shipments in the near future, and that fruit has a lot of the same characteristics as Mexico and offers a four-day transit time. We can now supply the market 10 months out of the year, and with Peru and supply from Guatemala and Colombia, we are confident about reaching our goal to be a year-round avocado source for our customers.”