Peruvian pomegranate exports jump as Chilean shipments fall
Peru sharply increased its pomegranate exports in the first half of this year, while neighboring Chile saw a substantial decline. 
According to figures from Peru's trade promotion agency, Promperú, the country notched a 58% rise in exports of the exotic fruit from January to July this year to reach 15,252 metric tons (MT).
This increase continues the strong upward trend the Andean country's pomegranate shipments have been seeing in recent years.
Its main market is Europe, where the Netherlands receives 41% of volumes, followed by Russia with 23% and the U.K. with 17%.
Peru's neighbor to the south, Chile, is also a major southern hemisphere pomegranate exporter, although its export volumes dropped by 48% from January to July this year to come in at 2,901MT, according to Odepa.
The vast major of Chile's exports are typically shipped between April and June, around a month later than Peru.
Chile's main market is the U.S., where 76% of shipments are sent followed by the Netherlands which takes 14%.
Year-on-year export volumes to the Netherlands declined around six-fold this season, while shipments to the U.S. only fell 19%.
In terms of the prices at the importer level, in the Netherlands pomegranates have on the whole been selling at similar levels to 2014, according to Tricop.
However, since the end of May, average prices dropped to lower levels than last year, reaching €2,20 (US$2.50) per kilogram at the end of June - 12% lower year-on-year.
Between weeks 33 to 37 the prices remained stable at an average of €2 (US$2.26) per kilogram, in contrast to the same time last year when prices rose toward the end of the Peruvian campaign in Europe.
In the U.S., figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) showed wholesale market prices for Chilean pomegranate remained similar during 2015 to the previous two years' levels.
However, prices rose somewhat after the second week of August to reach an average on US$19 per box during week 35.
Photo: www.shutterstock.com
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