A new organization has been formed in Peru to help forge better opportunities for the country's pomegranate growers and exporters.

ProGranada brings together 14 producer and exporter companies and has a key goal of reaching phytosanitary agreements that allow Peruvian pomegranates into the U.S.

The association's president Rodolfo Pacheco Monteverde told www.freshfruitportal.com that pomegranates were being planted in Peru but not in an excessive way.

"We have markets with phytosanitary protocols where we can send fruit to, but they are limited," said

"There are 1,211ha of pomegranates between the members of ProGronada. I calculate that we should have 300ha more with people who are not associated."

He said the organization aimed to improve pomegrate production, as well as trade in the most significant international markets. The plan is to start with the U.S., where Peru currently can only send pomegranate arils under strict rules.

"Peru only sends pomegraantes to Europe, Canada and the Middle East, but for the U.S. for example, we cannot send fruit like Chile does because there is no phytosanitary protocol."

He added that the only way to open markets was through association, as the government and its phytosanitary authorities did not have the means or resources to open markets in a faster way.

"So, we associated as the most important pomegranate grower companies so, in this way, we can have more negotiating power with countries, and also give support economically so that these markets open more quickly.

The move follows in the footsteps of other organizations like ProCitrus and ProHass, forming strategies and finding solutions to the necessary access opening processes.

"Right now we are opening the American market, for which we have contracted an American country that is doing work with the USDA, the American government and SENASA (National Agricultural Health Service of Peru), to be able to have a market opening in two years," Pacheco Monteverde said.

"This plan is for now and afterwards we are going to open Korea and other markets that buy a lot of this product."

The leader said the country exported 285 metric tons (MT) in 2011-12, which grew to 301MT in 2012-13.

Ideal conditions

The Peruvian pomegranate season starts in February and extends to May, however Pacheco Monteverde said the season would eventually be able to start in January with the help of varieties that ripen 45 days before Wonderful pomegranates.

Peru mainly produces the Wonderful and Acco pomegranate varieties, along with some varieties from Israel and other patented varieties. The industry also utilizes nameless pomegranates identified by barcodes, harnessed for early production, but Pacheco highlighted the only problem with them was that their postharvest lives were shorter than for Wonderful.

He mentioned the season's timing worked well in coordinating with Chile.

"Chile, for being more towards the Southern Hemisphere, is colder so the harvest is always more or less a month after the Peruvian one - I believe that the climatic conditions to grow pomegranates are in Peru.

"As we are in a desert zone and have a temperate climate, pomegranates grow earlier, and in terms of quality - according to our clients - are better than in Chile and Argentina.

"Pomegranates from Peru are healthier because they are grown in a drier climate, the external coloring is better, as is the taste and the color of the arils. These are the opinions that we have received from clients who buy from the three places of production in the Southern Hemisphere, which are Argentina, Chile and Peru."

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