KUALA LUMPUR – Peru’s agrifood product exports to Malaysia rose by 51.7% year-on-year during the period of January to October 2021.
According to a statement from Fruitnet Media International, Malaysia was the second biggest export market in Southeast Asia for Peruvian agrifood products in 2020, valued at US$6.4 million (RM26.8 million).
It said the main agrifood product exported to the country is raw cocoa beans, up 58.2% over the same period in 2020.
Fruitnet is the world’s leading event organiser for international fresh fruit and vegetable business.
At the regional level, trade between Peru and Asia in the fruit and vegetable sector also made positive progress last year, it said.
Fruitnet said Peru has established itself as the leading global exporter for blueberries after exporting 162,459 tonnes in the last campaign, with exports to Malaysia increasing by 409.9% last year compared with 2020.
Dates’ exports were also significant, recording a rate of growth of 518% during that period. Fresh pomegranates, sweet potato flour, beans, and fresh figs were other leading exports to Malaysia.
Fruitnet said Malaysia’s fruit consumption per capita is about 68.5kg based on its 32.4 million population, of which 23.9% are imported. As for vegetables, 77% are imported.
As such, and based on its data, Malaysia is an important commercial partner for Peru.
The statement said while the Peruvian brand is “still small” in this part of the world, the Malaysian market has become a major priority for Peruvian exports.
It added that its “Super Foods Peru” brand also represents exceptionally high-quality foods sourced from its oceans, jungle,s and mountains.
In 2020, the main destinations for Peruvian agrifood products in Asia were China (US$182 million), Hong Kong (US$158 million), South Korea (US$116 million), and Japan (US$89 million).
In Southeast Asia, the top destinations were Indonesia (US$11.5 million), Malaysia (US$6.4 million), Thailand (US$8 million), Vietnam (US$4 million) and Singapore (US$1.4 million). – Bernama
