Peruvian blueberry exports to grow 40 percent in 2026 despite El Niño threat
The Peruvian blueberry industry body, PROARANDANOS, posted its first seasonal forecast. However, the organization warned that the figure comes with a caveat, as abnormal weather conditions over the last few weeks have led to significant uncertainty.
"The current scenario does not yet allow for sufficiently reliable estimates,” the entity noted. “Communicating aggregated figures for the entire season would be premature.”
The projection, limited to the next 10 weeks, exceeds 40,000 tons recorded for the same period in the 2025-26 season, with exports estimated at approximately 56,000 tons of fresh blueberries.
According to PROARANDANOS, this dramatic 40 percent growth is the direct result of over 7,400 new acres coming into production this season, as well as other young plantations reaching their full productive potential, and greater participation of early varieties in the harvest calendar.
In this new landscape, Peru is reaching over 66,700 productive acres this season, with Sekoya Pop and Ventura as the most popular varieties.
Peruvian blueberries face weather uncertainty
Despite the early-season optimism, the association noted that temperatures started warming up in the country’s main production areas after the projection was calculated.
Current weather conditions, PROARANDANOS explained, could affect flowering and fruit development during the seasonal peak, injecting further volatility into already uncertain projections.
The organization added that the expansion of the planted area, the consolidation of early varieties, and the gradual recovery of the industry’s productive calendars were forever altered after the 2023 El Niño, largely explaining the expected growth at this stage.
However, given the possibility of new adverse climatic events during the 2026-27 season, PROARANDANOS didn’t rule out a drop in productivity in the midseason, which could be partially compensated by new planted area and a potential extension of the export period.
Next update
The industry body will continue to monitor the season's evolution on a weekly basis and expects to release a new projection in four weeks.
*All images courtesy of Peru's Ministry of Agricultural Development and Irrigation.
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