Peruvian exports of pisco, the country’s official national drink, totaled US$ 1.7 million between January and May 2013, up 24 percent from the same period a year ago, the Peruvian Exporters' Association (ADEX) said Monday.
ADEX’s agro director Giannina Denegri said that the grape-based liquor was exported to 25 countries during the period, with the United States being the leading destination as it accounted for 56 percent of total exports (US$ 962,904).
"The quality of this world renowned drink plays an important role in international demand," she noted.
The U.S. was followed by Chile and Germany, which bought US$ 420,733 and US$ 72,468 worth of Peruvian pisco respectively during the five month period.
Other countries that saw their pisco imports rise sharply from January-May include Japan (up 65%), France (up 918%), Panama (up 100%), Costa Rica (up 210%), Sweden (up 29%), the Netherlands (up 6,553%) and Singapore.
On a year-on-year basis, Peru began to export pisco to new markets of Latvia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Uruguay and Malaysia.
(END) JPC/LOG/MOC/EEP