Peru: Inka Crops break Peru’s native potato exports record
The Association of Exporters (ADEX) reported that the Peruvian company Inka Crops had broken the country’s native potato export volume record after marketing 83 tons of processed potatoes, equivalent to 490,104 bags of chips, to the United States.
The purchase was made possible thanks to the agreements made with the NGOs Fovida and Cedinco, responsible for planting planning, technical advice on cultivation, and monitoring of the 299 farmers in the 25 communities where the potatoes came from.
In turn, Inka Crops evaluated the quality of the raw material and was responsible for logistics and the realization of the final product, which is on sale in the US market since August of this year. All crops were cultivated with good practices and, in some cases, in fields that have 100% organic certification.
"Our food development team worked on the product based on four varieties of native potatoes: Wenccos, Cceccorani, Huayro Macho, and Sumac sonco; these varieties were selected after testing 14 varieties to assess their behavior in the frying process. The result is that we have produced crispy fries with a touch of salty flavor. We have used high oleic sunflower oil to achieve low levels of saturated fat and have the NON-GMO, Gluten-Free, and Kosher certifications," said Ignacio Garaycochea, the Commercial Manager of Inka Crops.
Sierra y Selva Exportadora will facilitate the commercial articulation of small and medium producers consolidated with family farming so as to strengthen the links with new organizations in different productive areas of the highlands. "We are carrying out articulated actions between the public and private sectors to boost agricultural activity and to insert it in a sustainable and direct way to national and international markets," said Jose Ezeta Carpio, the executive president of Sierra and Selva Exportadora.
"Next year we want to produce at least 500 tons of red and blue varieties in the crops from April to June. These will be processed as snacks during the months of May to August 2020. At the end of the campaign, we expect to export approximately 120 tons of native potato chips," the Commercial Manager of Inka Crops added.
Fuente: https://www.freshplaza.com/article/9145580/inka-crops-break-peru-s-native-potato-exports-record/