Peru will be the fourth economy with the largest exports in the region

The Central Reserve Bank (BCR) projected that this year exports would reach US$87,066 million. At the end of October, the total value of shipments already amounted to US$74,149 million, so, considering the performance of the last months of the year, it is expected that the final result will comfortably exceed the official estimate.

For the former Minister of Economy, approving changes in the rule of municipal funds within the Public Debt Law 2026 is “enormous contraband” and “incorporates a systemic risk.”

If this scenario comes to fruition, Peru would become the fourth largest exporter in the region, said Edgar Vásquez, director of the Global Economy and Business Research Center of the Association of Exporters (ADEX).

According to him, Peruvian shipments would exceed Argentine shipments, which would total around US$85 billion, although they would still be below countries such as Chile, which would reach US$105 billion, Brazil with more than US$340 billion, and Mexico with approximately US$660 billion.

Although the ADEX representative pointed out that there is a favorable scenario due to the high international price of metals and some products from the agricultural sector such as coffee and cocoa, he explained that there is also a high demand for national products.

Something that stood out is the number of exporting companies. According to him, this year there would be around 9,000 businesses that would send products abroad, a figure that would be above the 8,600 in 2024.

IN RED

Despite the good results, the ADEX representative pointed out that there are sectors that register negative results, such as shipments of phosphates and gold jewelry. The latter, as he explained, has been the most affected by the United States tariffs.

According to union figures, jewelry exports fell 37.9% between January and October. For Vásquez, before the United States measures were known, these shipments were projected to exceed US$200 million, which is why he pointed out that it is necessary for this problem to be resolved in the short term.

DYNAMISM

For his part, Carlos Posada, executive director of the Foreign Trade Research and Development Institute (Idexcam) of the Lima Chamber of Commerce, explained that mining is the sector that currently leads the growth of exports, thanks to the operations of Las Bambas and Quellaveco.

In October, he noted, fishing showed a strong recovery and the shipment of squid stood out. “In agro-export, the campaign closed with great force: table grapes grew more than 200% in October due to the early start of harvests, and blueberries set a historical volume record, evidencing the sector’s high resilience to the climate,” he added.

Likewise, he considered that to maintain the dynamism of exports, it is necessary to maximize the use of the port of Chancay, since it channels an important part of agricultural exports to China, since it reduces costs and time.

“In the medium term, it is essential to diversify markets, especially towards India in metals, and accelerate the modernization of agriculture, renewing varieties and betting on quality, to avoid price falls due to oversupply and sustain margins over time,” he added.