Thanks to the pandemic, people have begun to worry more about their health, including in their diet vitamin supplements that help them maintain a good immune system, that is why the foods with the highest number of Vitamin C in them have become the most requested increasing their demand and consequently the citrus exports.

Sergio del Castillo, general manager of ProCitrus, said that since last season, in 2020, there was a noticeable increase in citrus shipments (+ 39%), however prices remained unchanged. For this 2021 season, the search for vitamin C in a natural way has led consumers in countries located in the northern hemisphere to find in Peru an ally that provides them with excellent quality citrus fruits for their daily consumption.

ProCitrus projected for this year an increase in exports of 10%, expecting slow growth worldwide derived from the tendency to maintain good defenses. Among the most exported citrus fruits in the last season are:

• Tangerines (45%)
• Oranges for juice (40%)
• Subtle Lemon (47%)
• Tahiti lemon (22%)

Mandarins currently represent 80% of exported Peruvian citrus fruits, moreover, oranges and lemons have begun to grow steadily for 3 seasons, increasing their market share, which is still much lower than that of mandarins with the 10% and 7%, respectively.

Citrus export projections

For Del Castillo, the participation of the Peruvian market

in world supply is very small, so there is much opportunity to broadly increase shipments of oranges and lemons worldwide, taking into account the consumption capacity of the market.

The data reflects the growth power of the Peruvian supply because although 1.4 million tons of citrus fruits are produced per year, only 270 thousand tons are exported, approximately 20% of the total since not all have the certifications and sanitary requirements necessary. The other 80% is destined for internal consumption in the country.