Peru's exports to the United States and the European Union increased by 19.8 percent and 30.2 percent in the first half of 2013 compared with the same period last year, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
The UN agency said that Peru posted the region's fourth highest growth in exports to the U.S. during this period, behind Chile (21.7%), Paraguay (153.6%) and Uruguay (20.9%).
As for shipments to the 27-nation EU bloc, Peru had the third highest expansion rate after Bolivia (30.9%) and Paraguay (58.6%).
However, exports from Peru to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia dropped by 9.9% and 12.3% respectively between January and June 2013, ECLAC said.
In the first six months of the year, Peru's exports to the world fell 8.3 percent from the same period of 2012, as shown by ECLAC's annual report Latin America and the Caribbean in the World Economy 2013.
According to the document, regional export values are expected to grow by just 1.5% in 2013 (3% in volumes and -1.5% in prices) - which is similar to the 1.4% growth observed in 2012. Meanwhile, imports are expected to expand by 4.5%, which will bring the region's trade surplus down to 8.0 billion dollars in 2013 (compared to 41.0 billion dollars in 2012).
(END) JJN/AQR/LOG/EEP