Peruvian exports to Chile amounted to US$ 1.67 billion in 2013, while imports from the southern neighbor reached $1.2 billion, the Chamber of Comerce of Lima (CCL) said on Tuesday.
The balance of trade between the two countries was tipped in Peru’s favor last year; recording a surplus of US$ 397 million.
According to figures released by CCL, trade between the two South American countries stood at $2.94 billion in 2013.
"Peruvian and Chilean exports to the world together would reach around $125 billion, a figure not very far from those of Turkey, Nigeria and Qatar, and beyond Vietnam, Ireland, Kuwait, Denmark, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Iraq, South Africa, Venezuela, Iran, Argentina, among others," he said.
Gleiser, who is also president of the Peruvian Chapter of the Pacific Alliance Business Council, said that Peru and Chile have "a lot to do" in areas such as public-private partnerships (PPPs).
Also on Tuesday, new Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said she hopes that the Pacific Alliance -a regional trade bloc founded in 2012 by Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico- could serve as a platform for bolstering ties with Asia Pacific nations.
She proposed to build "bridges of understanding on ideological and subregional differences."
"Any initiative that includes the Pacific nations can continue, as long as there is no ideological or other type of exclusion," she added.
Peru is currently the world's number 60 exporter while Chile ranks 47.
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