Peru's food exports reached 138 countries, thus totaling US$3.605 billion in the first eight months of 2017, up 10% from the same period last year, Agriculture and Irrigation Ministry (Minagri) reported.
Growth was mainly underpinned by greater shipments of non-traditional products, whose export value increased by 13% in said period.
According to Minagri, most demanded products included citrus fruits (+56%), fresh fruits (+54%), animal feed (+48%),
avocados (+44%), fresh grapes (+19%),
quinoa (+14%), fresh mangoes (+8%) and evaporated milk (+5%), among others.
Top destinations for Peruvian products were China (+121%), South Korea (+121%), Ecuador (+30%), Italy (+23%), Spain (+16%), Belgium (+12%), the United States (+9%), England (+5%), Canada (+5%), the Netherlands (+4%) and Chile (+2%).
Traditional products
Between January and August, traditional agricultural shipments reached US$339 million, thus accounting for 9% of total
agro-exports.
Non-traditional products
On the other hand, the non-traditional sector achieved a 13% growth, going up from US$2.903 billion in 2016 to US$3.266 billion this year (during the Jan-Aug period).
Said shipments made up 91% of total agricultural sales.
Goods such as avocados, grapes, asparagus, mangoes, citrus fruits, Cavendish Valery bananas, cacao and quinoa as well as animal feed stood out in this sense.
New markets
Peruvian agricultural products captivated 138 countries, being the United States (27%) the main target market, followed by the Netherlands (15%), Spain (7%), England (5%), Ecuador (5%), China (5%), Germany (3%), Chile (3%), Belgium (2%) and Canada (2%).
Trade Balance
Lastly, Peru had an accumulated
trade surplus of US$524 million during the first eight months of 2017.
In the analyzed period, total exports amounted to US$3.605 billion, whereas imports reached US$ 3.081 billion.
(END) MDV MDV/JAA/RMB