In the first half of the year, Peruvian food shipments (agribusiness and fishing for direct human consumption) to Southeast Asia totaled US$187 million, reflecting a 36.1% drop compared to the same period in 2021, which is why an agenda of effective work to take better advantage of these markets, said the Exporters Association (ADEX).
The director of the Center for Research on Global Economy and Business (CIEN-ADEX), Edgar Vásquez Vela, indicated that there are various products that Peru exports to the world in significant quantities, but due to various factors they do not manage to position themselves in the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
“In the agribusiness category, the most shipped Peruvian fruit to the world is the grape, which exceeded US$1,000 million in 2021. In parallel, these nations import it from the world for more than US$1,054 million, however, Peru only represents 2% of that total. The figure is similar with fresh tangerines, avocados, blueberries, among others”, he explained.
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He added that in the fishing and aquaculture sector the opportunities lie with shrimp, since these nations buy it for more than US$722 million, and our country only supplies 0.4% of their orders. The same happens with squid, which, of the total imported by the Southeast Asian markets, Peru only concentrates 1.4%.
“We are taking advantage of the opportunities little by little, but the potential of this block is still very great and participation is very low. This is a clear signal that we must take a better look at these destinations, open up more opportunities, see the cases where there are still no trade agreements, finish negotiations, and complement them with an aggressive health opening agenda that allows our leading products to position themselves”, he pointed.
He also recalled that last year Peru imported almost US$ 2,199 million from Asean members, while shipments only amounted to US$ 653 million. “If they can export us for that amount, it means that they have built the necessary logistics, which we must take advantage of to increase shipments“, said.
In addition, he argued that the current Free Trade Agreements with Thailand and Singapore should not be lost sight of. “In the case of Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, we are united by the Trans-Pacific agreement, although in these last two cases they have not yet been ratified“, accurate.
It should be noted that ADEX will organize the next Expoalimentaria 2022, the most outstanding food fair in the region that will return to its face-to-face format, and announced that a delegation of buyers from these countries will meet at this event to learn about the best of the exportable offer Peruvian.
In detail
Primary shipments to Southeast Asia totaled US$ 81.6 million in the first six months of the year, falling 60.5% and accounting for 43.6% of the total. Mining led this sector with US$65.5 million thanks to copper and its concentrates. Its main destinations were Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The non-traditional amounted to US$ 105.4 million, presenting an increase of 22.3%. Agribusiness (US$36.2 million) was the most important subsector, growing 23.7%, followed by fishing for direct human consumption (US$28.5 million) and non-metallic mining (US$17.4 million).
Its most popular items were cuttlefish and squid, natural calcium phosphates, cocoa beans, fresh grapes and unalloyed zinc, which were mainly sent to Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.
