According to the Exporters Association (Adex), despite the stagnation experienced in 2015, Peruvian agricultural exporters expect to double exports to 10,000 million dollars in 2021.
The union's goal for 2016 is to surpass the 6,000 million dollars in exports, thus overcoming the 5,093 million dollars and 0.06 percent drop over 2014 achieved in 2015.
According to data from Adex, 85 percent of the non-traditional agricultural exports abroad are of fresh grapes, coffee, asparagus, avocado, quinoa, fresh mangoes, organic bananas, and paprika.
Worldwide, Peru is the number one exporter of asparagus (fresh, frozen and canned), quinoa, and maca; the second biggest exporter of asparagus and artichokes; the third biggest exporter of organic bananas and dried paprika, and the fourth largest exporter of table grapes and paprika powder.
"Actually, we have 15 to 17 products that are going to be strengthened in the market this year. Above all, however, we are working hard on positioning these products. That means that an important element in the competitive analysis is what position we occupy in the ranking," said the CEO of Adex, Jorge Rochabrunt.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (Minagri) said Peru exported agricultural products to 150 destinations. They also stated that the United States was their main market with 25 percent of the total, followed by China, Ecuador and Spain.
"Currently, our main agricultural export are grapes. Grape exports have had a sustained growth in recent years as a result of the timely investment made in this area. These crops often take three to five years to strongly enter the market," said Guillermo Rebosio, an adviser for the Minagri.
The South American country has existing trade agreements with 19 countries and regions and it is in negotiations with five other nations to sign more agreements.
Source: Xinhua