Travel report: Chile & Peru Travel report Focus on acquisition in Chile and Peru Aartsenfruit continues to grow and the demand for fruit and vegetables is increasing, particularly in the Asian market. As a result, it is crucial that we expand our horizons and introduce ourselves to potential new partners. Which is why Menno van Breemen and Wayne Jongerius from aartsenfruit Asia and Arco van de Klundert and Bob Maris from aartsenfruit Breda recently paid a visit to Chile and Peru. Bob wrote a report of the trip especially for nonstopfresh magazine. Wayne Jongerius, Menno van Breemen, Roy Lozano and Paola Garcia (Hass Peru), Arco van de Klundert and Bob Maris
New and existing The journey began in Santiago, Chile. Santiago is a modern city with a solid infrastructure and a well manicured appearance. The city’s parks are neatly maintained, there are many lovely buildings and very little trash on the streets. Everywhere we went in Chile, we had views on the imposing Andes Mountains. During the trip, Menno, Wayne, Arco and I visited contacts including those we met during the trade fair in Hong Kong, but we also stopped by to see existing partners. We scheduled a few farm visits as well. It is always educational and interesting to see where the fruit comes from and how the production and packaging processes work. New grape varieties Chile produces some 90 million boxes of grapes annually and many of aartsenfruit’s partners in the country grow grapes as well. Last season ended on a difficult note and many partners expect the upcoming season to be challenging as well. Yet the growers are also putting intensive effort into new developments. These days, there’s no denying the importance of new grape varieties. The growth in demand is evident and meeting this demand will require replacing ‘old’ varieties of grapes with new ones. In Chile however, it takes three years for new plants to start producing grapes. Growers, in other words, must be willing to look forward and invest, and even then, there are no guarantees. Opportunities for growth After a few days in Santiago, we turned our attention northward, towards the San Felipe and Los Andes regions. This area lies a little less than an hour’s drive to the north of Santiago. The region’s climate makes it ideal for producing grapes and avocados. We visited the family owned business Agricola Brown, where we were welcomed by Sebastian Brown. He proudly showed us around the grape fields and warehouse. The area is truly lovely. From here, on a clear day, you can see all the way to the highest mountain in South America: Aconcagua. Our next stop was Exser, where we spoke with José Ureta. Aartsenfruit already received quite a few containers from the farm last season. This initial introduction went extremely well and both parties see plenty of opportunities for future growth. Beehives Immediately afterwards, we paid a visit to one of Agricola Corpora’s farms, which grows crops including avocados. We were given a tour on the farm, which lies in a mountainous region. A 4x4 jeep is more necessity than luxury here. We noticed that the avocado trees are covered with creeping vines and the fruit grows high on the trees. There are also many beehives on the property. As it turns out, these avocado trees are not capable of selfpollination and so the bees are needed to pollinate their flowers. Onwards to Peru On the fourth day, we flew from Santiago to Lima, the capital of Peru. From there, we boarded an hour-long domestic flight to Trujillo. With around 800,000 inhabitants, this port town is the country’s third largest city. From there, we drove south to visit the farm belonging to Hass Peru. Roy Lozano gave us a tour. The company has a 650 hectare spread, half of which is used for blueberries and the other half for growing avocados. Hand picked/hand packed At the moment of our visit, the blueberries were being harvested. The fruit hangs on the bush and here the ripe, darkened berries are selected and picked by hand. The berries go into a measuring cup and the full measuring cups are placed in shady spots. Later, they are collected and taken to the warehouse. There, the blueberries are selected and sorted by size, and all by hand. The trays are filled to the desired weight and then packaged. This careful and impressive process is known as ‘hand picked/hand packed’. We also visited the blueberry fields and warehouse of another partner, Camposol. Camposol is one of the largest companies growing blueberries and other crops. During peak periods, the company employs some 10,000 people on a daily basis and fills 25 containers with packaged blueberries per day! Developments It’s evident that Peru has seen enormous growth in the past years. Millions are being invested in major projects, such as for blueberries, and the government is doing its part to ensure a solid infrastructure as well. Enormous investments are also being made in extensive irrigation projects which will enable the large-scale cultivation of crops. Wayne Jongerius, Arco van de Klundert, Sebastian Brown (Agricola Brown) and Menno van Breemen nonstop fresh/ 51 Arco van de Klundert, José Oreta (Exser), Bob Maris and Menno van Breemen
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