Peru's table grape exports reach $790 million in the first half of 2026
Peru shipped $790 million of table grapes between January and June 2026, more than 17 percent above the same period a year earlier, according to MIDAGRI figures reported by FreshFruitPortal. The United States took $446 million of that total, while volumes to the US held flat at 275,000 metric tons. China, Israel, Taiwan, Greece, Ireland, Lebanon and Cambodia appear as destinations with no recorded shipments in the 2025 period.
Peru's table grape exports totaled $790 million in the first half of 2026, more than 17 percent above the same period of 2025, according to official figures from the Directorate of Economic Studies at the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI), reported by FreshFruitPortal.
The ministry says Peru remains the world's leading producer and exporter of table grapes, a position it has taken from traditional suppliers including Chile, the United States and Italy. MIDAGRI attributes the shift to a combination of varietal innovation, logistics efficiency, climate adaptation and market access rather than to any single driver.
The United States accounts for more than half of export value
The United States remains the leading destination, with $446 million shipped between January and June, an increase of more than 11 percent year on year. That is roughly 56 percent of Peru's total table grape export value for the half-year. Volume, however, did not move in step: shipments to the US held stable at 275,000 metric tons, according to the MIDAGRI data cited by FreshFruitPortal. Value growth on flat tonnage points to higher unit prices and a shift in the fruit mix rather than to additional supply.
Mexico was the second-largest market, with sales of close to $94 million, up 46 percent from the first half of 2025. It was the fastest-growing of the established destinations named by the ministry, and it now sits well ahead of the newer Asian and European buyers in value terms.
New destinations enter the mix
MIDAGRI reported shipments to several markets that had no recorded exports in the comparable 2025 period. China accounted for $21.6 million and Israel for $9.3 million. Taiwan, Greece, Ireland, Lebanon and Cambodia also appear on the list of new destinations. The ministry separately cites Mexico, Spain, China and Colombia among longstanding markets that recorded strong growth; the same source describes China both as a new destination and as an established market, without reconciling the two characterizations.
Individually, the new markets are small relative to North America. Together they matter for concentration risk: with the United States absorbing more than half of export value and Mexico a further share, Peruvian exporters remain heavily exposed to demand and tariff conditions in two neighbouring markets. Each additional destination adds an outlet for fruit that would otherwise compete for shelf space in the same importing countries during the Southern Hemisphere window.
Varieties and the Chancay port underpin the lead
Peru now commercialises more than 40 table grape varieties, according to MIDAGRI. Among those with the widest consumer acceptance are Sweet Globe, Crimson Seedless and Arra 15. Licensed and club varieties of this type typically command higher prices than older seeded and seedless material, which is consistent with the divergence between value and volume growth in the United States.
The ministry also points to the Chancay port, which it describes as a game changer for the sector because it cuts transit times and costs to Asian markets. Shorter voyages matter disproportionately for table grapes, a product whose condition on arrival determines whether it is sold as premium fruit or discounted. MIDAGRI says the port has consolidated Peru's standing as a logistically superior supplier in the Southern Hemisphere, the same competitive space occupied by Chile.
Season context
The half-year figure follows a full-season result reported by FreshFruitPortal, which put Peru's table grape exports at $1.9 billion. Peruvian shipments are concentrated in the second half of the calendar year, so the January-to-June period captures the tail of one campaign rather than the peak. For importers and competing suppliers in Chile, California and Italy, the relevant signals from the first half are the flat US tonnage alongside double-digit value growth, the scale of the increase in Mexico, and the speed at which Peru is opening destinations it did not serve a year ago.
