The Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Eduardo Ferreyros, said that Peruvian products arriving in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through the DP World port operator would receive special rates and even free services.
The head of Mincetur said this measure would help boost domestic exports to that part of the world.
He said that this important achievement was due the efforts of the Commercial Office of Peru in Dubai (OCEX Dubai).
The minister said the OCEX Dubai had intensified negotiations with the DP World port operator in the UAE this year to reach an agreement that would grant Peruvian exporters better rates and special considerations.
Up to 60% in discounts
Negotiators achieved an agreement that includes free services and special rates, which in some cases have discounts of up to 60%, for direct exports to Dubai and for re-exports using the aforementioned port as an intermediate platform.
Ferreyros said they had reached this important agreement for several reasons, such as the sustained growth of Peruvian exports to the UAE, which went from 6.8 million to almost 400 million in the last six years.
Additionally, the Peruvian exports have a well-known potential in the neighboring ports of Dubai, which they can reach using the port of Jebel Ali as a re-exporting center.
This agreement will also give local importers a competitive advantage as they would directly import their products (avoiding passage through ports like Rotterdam) and increase the operational presence of DP World in Peru.
Peru, a privileged partner of the UAE
Minister Ferreyros said that the relevance acquired by Peru, which was a privileged partner of the UAE in Latin America, laid the basis for the success of this negotiation.
"The work done since the opening of the OCEX Dubai in 2011 continues to bear fruit," he said.
He added that Peruvian exporters would be able to make use of the agreement starting next month.
"This will promote market diversification and our domestic products to a region that is completely dependent on imports and that is well known because of the rapid growth of its middle class," he concluded.
Important location
The UAE is the world's third largest re-export platform and the port of entry to the MEASA region (Middle East, Africa and Central Asia).
Its strategic position between Asia and Africa provides access to 2/3 of the world's population in less than eight hours of flight.
Additionally, the UAE has made an important investment in infrastructure, which will help it become the next world hub.
Meanwhile, DP World is among the three major international operators as it handles 50% of container cargo worldwide through its 77 ports, including the southern terminal of the port of Callao and the port of Jebel Ali (Dubai).
The latter is the most important port as it has a capacity for 19 million TEUs (container carrying capacity) and 90 weekly services to over 140 destinations, additionally, it accounts for 26% of Dubai's GDP.
Source: andina.com.pe