The Foreign Trade Research and Development Institute of the Lima Chamber of Commerce (Idexcam) warned that the recent invasion of Russia to Ukraine would put Peruvian wheat imports at risk.
The reason is that Russia, being a major world supplier, could receive drastic economic sanctions, which would interrupt its export volumes demanded by different markets, including Peru.
“In the eventual scenario that the economic sanctions are extended and include the main Russian exports, the countries that acquire their wheat will have to look for other suppliers, which could eventually push the value of this product up”pointed out the executive director of Idexcam, Carlos Posada.
He added that wheat is a widely used cereal in the country and necessary for the manufacture of flour and bread, in addition to other products, highly requested in the Peruvian family basket. At the end of 2021, imports of this product totaled US$ 17 million after acquiring 65,728 tons.
It is worth mentioning that Peru’s main suppliers of wheat are Canada (75%), the United States (12%), Argentina (10%) and Russia (4%).
He specified that Russia is the world’s leading exporter of wheat, being responsible for no less than 24% of world exports at the end of 2021.
The main destination markets for wheat exports from Russia are the African countries and Turkey, a country for which imports of Russian wheat represent 85% of total purchases of said product.
In this scenario, Idexcam urged wheat importing companies to review the procurement contracts for these products and ensure that their suppliers will respect the amounts negotiated for this year.
