Peru:
Growing in
Prominence
PMA around
the Americas

Photo by Nancy Tucker, PMA.

By Nancy Tucker
NTucker@pma.com

Peru, the land that gave the potato to the world, is an increasingly prominent player in fruit and vegetable exports. The country’s natural advantages of climate, geographic location, and labor availability are being augmented with sophisticated growing techniques and quality management. The growth in exports since the beginning of this One of Peru’s agricultural advantages is its diversity of decade shows the success that Peru continues to capitalize on. microclimates, which allow a broad range of products to be

According to the TradeCenter of the American Chamber grown. Out of the 108 types of climates existing in the world, of Commerce of Peru (AmCham Peru), horticultural exports Peru’s geographical territory incorporates 84 of these, result-have maintained a dynamic upward trend since the beginning ing in a variety of crops. A highly productive area lies along of this decade. The value of these the coast which is sometimes products, which in 2006 reached US$ Indices of Farming Labor Costs called a ‘natural greenhouse’ due

1,146 million (FOB), grew significant- [Peru: 1.0, 2004] to the effect of the ocean’s cold ly between 2000 and 2006, yielding _{Canada 40.9} Humboldt current on one side

UK 22. 8 and the Andes mountain range

Germany 18. 8

Peru Top 5 Fresh Produce ^{on the other.}

Australia 16. 7

^{Exports to the U.S. USA 16. 6}Peru Horticultural Exports
^{[Million USD, 2007] Spain 11. 5} have grown nearly 21% yearly
Israel ^{9. 3}

_{France 9. 3} since 2000 [Million USD] Asparagus: 161.4 1,200

4.1

_{South Africa} The relatively

2.2

Chile low cost of Peruvian ^{1,000 $1,146 (FOB)}
Mangos: 27. 8 _2.0
Mexico labor is an important 800

2.0

_Onions: 19.0 ^Brazil _2.0 factor to consider when ₆₀₀
^Argentina 1.3 looking at the country’s

Ecuador ⁴⁰⁰ Grapes: ^1.2

18.2 competitiveness.

^Peru1.0 1.0 200

China0.6 0.6

Citrus: 14.0 14 _India ^{0 0.1} Year 2000 Year 2006 Source: USDA/ERS-FATUS, 2007 Source: ILO, IMNAG. Data: South Africa (2002); Argentina (2003); Mexico _{Source: TradeCenter of the American Chamber of Commerce} (2005); manufacturers’ labor cost used for India, Ecuador, Argentina, Chile,

South Africa, France, Spain and Australia; Peru’s labor cost used was ^{of Peru (AmCham Peru)/Adex Trade.} $0.50/hour (agriculture, 2005), and $1.06/hour (manufacturing, 2004).

an annual average growth of 20.6%. The main fresh produce export is asparagus ( 16.2% of all horticultural exports), followed by mango ( 5.0%), grapes ( 4.0%), avocado ( 3.4%), bananas (2.3%), and onions (1.5%).