Peruvian potato production grows 10.9% up to March

Between January and March 2024, potato production in Peru reached 342,657 tons, representing an increase of 10.9% compared to the same period last year, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI).

 

INEI's technical report "Departmental Economic Outlook-February 2024" revealed that the growth in tuber production is due to the increase in harvested areas. At the departmental level, Apurimac with an increase of 355.0%, Puno with 127.3%, and Ayacucho with 29.4%, were some of the departments that contributed most to this increase, representing 45.5% of the total produced.

 

Increases were also recorded in Piura with 124.8%, Lambayeque with 58.9%, and Tacna with 26.3%, while regions such as Ancash and Cajamarca had more moderate increases.

 

However, not all regions experienced growth; Lima, Cusco and Huánuco saw significant reductions in production, with decreases of 73.5%, 17.9% and 8.5%, respectively. Similarly, La Libertad, Moquegua, Pasco, Amazonas and Ica also faced declines in production of this crop.

 

Despite declines in some areas, Huanuco remained the leading potato producer at the national level.

 

Avocado

Additionally, in February 2024, avocado production in Peru showed an impressive growth of 47.4%, reaching 57,257 tons. This increase is attributed to better weather conditions that favored the ripening of the fruit, with Lima, Ica, Ayacucho and Huancavelica leading this advance.

 

Mango

In contrast, mango production suffered a sharp contraction of 38.3%, registering only 57,314 tons due to adverse weather conditions associated with the El Niño Costero phenomenon, which particularly affected producing regions such as Piura and Lambayeque.