VIRU
Putting Peru’s products on the world’s tables

	Peru’s leading asparagus producer

In 2001, Sociedad Agrícola Virú (Virú), Peru’s main asparagus producer, was exporting just 2% of its production to the US. Today, it exports more than 50%, employs 5,000 workers and produces 120 million units of canned peppers, artichokes and asparagus per year. A decision to diversify in 1999 is behind this phenomenal growth, says president and CEO Miguel Nicolini (INTERVIEW), as it led to a contract with American company General Mills, and Virú’s subsequent role as supplier for the Green Giant label.

“We have been exporting for 13 years, and our main market was concentrated in Europe with only one product, white asparagus,” he explains. “Then we experienced a tough exchange rate against the Euro, and when that happened, we began to think about entering the US market. We needed new products then, and we found that artichokes had growth potential.”

The key to the company’s success since then has been in keeping their product base simple – canned vegetables only. “We do not do fresh, we do not do fruits, and we only do those three vegetables in can. This way, we have maximised our efforts to lead the sector,” he adds, saying that in the future the company will expand its product base, increasing value added components but always using the same raw materials – peppers, artichokes and asparagus.

Peru’s agricultural sector has great potential for investors, according to Mr Nicolini, who estimates that only 5% of the country’s cultivatable land is now being used. With its Mediterranean climate and competitive costs, Mr Nicolini says that Peru is ripe for the harvest that modern farming techniques and new investment in farming can bring. He is also an enthusiastic supporter of the upcoming Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US.

“Of course, we need the FTA,” he states. “I believe the government has done a great job in bringing about this agreement with the US.”

Of the company’s milestones since 1994, Mr Nicolini says he is particularly satisfied with the wealth the company has been able to generate through employment creation in rural areas. Another contribution of the company has been in its artichoke cultivation, which was previously only grown in Peru’s highlands until Virú entered the sector. Lastly, through its growing exports, Virú has been instrumental in promoting Peruvian products abroad. As Mr Nicolini says, “We have put Peru’s name on the best tables in the world.”