Peru tops worldwide passion fruit export list

Worldwide, it’s estimated that passion fruit production reached 1 million tons in 2020, with South America participation at 84.5 percent, followed by Asia with 12.4 percent, Africa with 2.7 percent, Central America and the Caribbean with .4 percent, and the rest with .01 percent, as reported by Agraria.

Maria Esther Wong, a specialist of the Commercial Intelligence Unit of Sierra y Selva Exportadora, highlighted that Brazil produces 593,429 tons of passion fruit, followed by Colombia with 137,436 tons, Peru with 80,219 tons, and Ecuador with 48,298 tons.

“In total, these four countries produce 859,382 tons, that is, they contribute 90% of the production of South America, the rest are made up of Venezuela, Chile and Bolivia,” said Wong.

In 2020, Peru produced 80,219 tons reflecting an increase of 24.8 percent when compared to the 64,275 tons produced in 2019.

Wong said Peru is the largest exporter of passion fruit in the world, surpassing Colombia and Ecuador. More than 90% of the Peruvian supply is exported in concentrated juices, with the Netherlands as the main market.

Passion fruit exports from Peru totaled $42.2 million in 2020, representing a decrease of 6.7 percent compared to the $45.2 million in 2019.

This was followed by Colombia with $35.5 million in 2020 ($34.2 million in 2019), Ecuador with $33.9 million ($27.7 million in 2019) and Brazil with $1.1 million ($1.2 million in 2019).

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