Mourning the passing of Rafael Quevedo: pioneer of the Peruvian avocado
The businessman and founder of the Rocío Group was an innovator and a benchmark for the industry worldwide
The global avocado community is in mourning. Rafael Quevedo Flores, founder of Grupo Rocío, a leading figure in the Peruvian and international agri-food industry, passed away at the age of 89.In that role, he was a visionary from the start: he pioneered the development of agriculture on sandy soils, giving value to lands that seemed to have no productive use. However, with creativity, innovation, and hard work, he brought to life plantations of products as varied as blueberries, which led his company to become a partner of Hortifrut, the largest berry producer in the world.
He was equally able to discover the export potential of avocados, becoming an international benchmark for the product, opening up space for Peru, which today has its country as a protagonist in the business in Europe and Asia, and with a very powerful development in the United States.
Remembered as a very upright and admired person in the industry, he went on to become Minister of Agriculture of his country.
For more than 20 years, he maintained a close relationship with Avobook CEO Sebastián de la Cuadra, who remembers him with respect and admiration for his willingness to teach what he learned throughout his years involved in food production.
“He was always generous in receiving visitors, whom I brought from the United States or Chile in various roles I've had. He would open the doors of the countryside to us and show us what he was doing,” recalls Sebastián de la Cuadra.
From Avobook, we send our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones, who were many throughout his business career.
