The head of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur), Roberto Sánchez, announced the suspension of the commercial sanctions applied by Peru against Colombia for restricting the access of Peruvian rice to the Colombian market authorized by the Court of Justice of the Andean Community.
In view of the fact that it has been verified that Peruvian rice has been entering Colombia normally, through Supreme Decree No. 013-2022-Mincetur of November 15, endorsed by the Minister of Economy and Finance and the Minister of Agrarian Development and Irrigation, it is has suspended the execution of the commercial sanction imposed on said country.
“The Ministry of Foreign Trade led the bilateral work between the governments of Colombia and Peru, so we are happy to continue promoting and strengthening our bilateral trade relations, as part of the Andean integration process,” said the head of the sector, Roberto Sanchez.
“From the sector we work to continue opening markets to medium and small national producers, for this good relations with all countries are important,” highlighted the head of the Mincetur.
Negotiation
Through a statement dated September 5, 2022, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism and the Minister of Agrarian Development and Irrigation of Peru informed the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia that it is It is essential that the free, total and permanent access of Peruvian rice to the Colombian market be verified, for which they requested, as agreed on August 29, 2022 in Lima, to send the adopted internal regulations, in order to be able to communicate it to the concerned sectors of the Peruvian government.
In this sense, it was indicated that, according to what was stated at the highest level, Colombia is expected to definitively rescind all restrictions on Peruvian rice exports.
On October 4 of this same year, the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade of Colombia, in response to the aforementioned communication, informed the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade of Peru that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Colombia is not required to issue an internal regulation other than the instruction that, in effect, he issued to the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) to enable normal access for white rice originating in Peru to the Colombian market as of September 1, 2022.
Consequently, it reiterated the request for Peru to lift the sanction imposed.
On the other hand, on October 7, the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade of Colombia, reiterated to the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Roberto Sánchez and the former Minister of Agrarian Development and Irrigation of Peru, the terms of his communication dated October 4 2022, and attached an email from the Office of International Affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Colombia addressed to ICA, which indicates that, following the instructions of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Colombia and in accordance with the commitments acquired with Peru, it is requested that as of September 1, 2022, the normal access of white rice originating in Peru be enabled.
In addition, it requires continuous monitoring of this process and the sending of the respective weekly reports on the entry of said product.
Data
Between January and November 2022, the export value of Peruvian rice to Colombia amounted to US$12 million, growing more than 35 times compared to the same period in 2021, where the figures amounted to US$346,000.
In the year 2021, of the total volume and value of rice exported by Peru to the world, Colombia concentrated 59% and 49%, respectively.
Peru is the second largest rice producer in the Latin American region. The main rice-producing regions are San Martín, Piura, Amazonas and Lambayeque.
