Blueberries have become the latest Peruvian product to be granted approval for exports to Brazil, giving producers access to a market of more than 200m consumers.
They join a growing list of exports which includes mandarins, tangelos, peppers, tomatoes and custard apples.
Agriculture minister José Manuel Hernández said Peru’s geographic location meant it could transport the blueberries by road via the Southern Interoceanic Highway, giving it an advantage over other suppliers whose shipments arrive by sea.
Passion fruit is the next product set to gain access to the Brazilian market, with Hernández confident that negotiations would be finalised in the coming weeks.
Peruvian blueberry exports totalled US$232.9m last year and are expected to grow rapidly in 2017 and planted area increases.
The US is the main export market, accounting for US$130.7m of shipments, followed by the Netherlands (US$52.7m), UK (US$29.6m) and Canada (US$4.9m), according to customs data.
