On the first day of XXXIV International Blueberries Seminar Peru 2025, the panel discussion "The blueberry industry, current status, strategies and trends" was held, which included the participation of the president of the Association of Agricultural Producers Guilds of Peru (AGAP), gabriel amaro with whom we were able to talk about the growth of the blueberry industry in Peru.

How has the relationship between the public and private sectors helped the development of the blueberry industry?
The relationship between the public and private sectors is vital. The agricultural industry works hand in hand with the public sector because it's one of the most regulated industries in the world, linked to food and people's health. Therefore, any product must meet the appropriate phytosanitary requirements to reach the consumer. In that sense, at AGAP we promote working groups with the public sector, not only with the Ministry of Agriculture, but also with the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Transportation, and the Ministry of Foreign Trade, because the industry is transversal. There are regional issues, port issues, economic regulation, tax issues, and labor issues. So it's a highly comprehensive industry that interacts daily with all state public policy, and what we, the private sector, must do is ensure that this remains competitive. That's why this relationship is vital.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries (MINAGRI), this season Peru has become the largest producer of blueberries in the world. How has the journey led to this point?
It hasn't been easy, due to the instability in Peru and the difficult international market, in which we are not alone; there is a lot of competition in the sector. But this shows that Peruvians can do it. And we have built a suitable investment and business environment in the agricultural sector. We've had our setbacks, but we continue working to ensure this environment remains conducive. On the other hand, we have conditions that other countries don't have; we are in a very favorable position for this industry. The conditions we have, the business environment, and the climate help us be the most productive country in the crop we develop. So all these factors have allowed the blueberry sector to develop, and today we are number one in the world.

The Minister of Agriculture commented that Peru's goal is to reach $2025 billion in blueberry exports by 3000. Is this figure within our reach?
Well, there are two issues here that aren't discussed together: one thing is the value of exports in dollars, and another is the number of tons exported. If we increase our tonnage and reach the same market, the price will drop, so that doesn't necessarily mean exporting more dollars. But if we accelerate and are more aggressive in opening new markets, we'll evidently maintain that balance between exported quantities and competitive prices. Because we won't flood markets with more products, but rather we'll reach new markets that don't have as much supply of the product. That's why it's important to open markets in Asia. There, we're exporting just over USD 1000 billion in agricultural products in general, when the potential is USD 8000 billion or USD 9000 billion across all Asian countries. Yes, there's room, but we need to accelerate processes to open new markets.

It was just said that talks with Japan for blueberry exports will begin in August.
Japan is a good location due to its purchasing power and expected consumption, but opening markets isn't easy. It could take decades, not because of compliance with protocols, but because of the methodology adopted by Asian countries and a political issue as well. Because there must be reciprocity. They open a market for us, and we must do the same. It's a hot topic with Trump. This possibility of opening a market in August is the result of very slow and tedious, but very important, work by Senasa and the agricultural production sector that supported this process. The opening of this market will be driven by two factors that have occurred. One was the APEC meeting, where we promoted several new products in several global markets, and the other was an event in Osaka in August, where we will participate as AGAP and as CEPEJA (Peruvian-Japanese Business Council). In addition, there will be an official visit by President Boluarte, along with the private sector, who will help shape decisions at the highest level.

Do you think the blueberry boom will benefit other crops?
Obviously, let's remember that the first crop was asparagus, and it proved we could become number one. Then came Hass avocado, grapes, and today, blueberries emerge, where we are number one. The path is set, and the way to become one too. We already know; there's a small but very powerful industry, because it doesn't even account for 5% of the entire planted territory. It's the country's modern industry, but we obviously know how to develop crops. So we can return to the beginning of the interview with the public-private relationship, and this involves strengthening the institutions that must facilitate our work. For example, strengthening and modernizing Senasa (National Senasa), which is a great institution and is the one that must help us open, for example, genetic material from the United States or other countries to new crops and thus accelerate the testing processes, finding suitable cultivation sites, learning the techniques, and being able to develop other crops.

We look forward to seeing you at the next events of Blueberries Consulting:

-XXXV International Seminar on Berries & Cherries, Chile April 10, 2025
-XXXVI International Berry Seminar, Guadalajara, Mexico, May 28 and 29
-XXXVII International Blueberry Seminar Trujillo, Peru July 9 and 10
-XXXVIII International Blueberry Seminar Tangier, Morocco September 10