Peru breaks record in fruit exports to Japan

Peruvian fruit exports to the Japanese market broke a record by adding around US$68 million at the end of 2023, reported the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur).

This great achievement has occurred as a result of the introduction of fresh Peruvian grapes to Japan and the increased sales of avocados, both fresh and frozen.

“News like this motivate us to continue working to promote the development of Peruvian foreign trade. This means supporting our MSMEs, training them and providing them with all the tools so that they can reach the main markets in the world,” highlighted the head of Mincetur, Elizabeth Galdo.

As detailed in the recent Peru-Japan Bilateral Trade Report, published by the Directorate of Research and Economic Studies of Mincetur, in 2023 Peru exported 2,200 metric tons of grapes to Japan, for US$8 million, after managing to exceed the health requirements applied in said destination.

As recalled, national grapes enjoy tariff-free access to Japan, under the Economic Partnership Agreement between Peru and Japan (on a seasonal basis) and under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

At the end of 2023, our country accounted for 5% of the total grape imports in Japan, which has Chile, the United States and Australia among its main suppliers.

However, only in January of this year, Peru’s participation as a grape exporter to Japan was 43%, compared to 57% for Chile. Both countries are the only ones that export this agricultural good to Japan during the first months of the year.

Annually, Japan imports fresh and frozen fruit for more than US$3 billion, mainly bananas (31% of the total) from the Philippines (79% of the total); Kiwi (11%), from New Zealand (95%); almond (7%), from the USA (98%); and avocado (5%) from Mexico (76%) and Peru (22%).