Peruvian exports exceeded US$63 billion and grew 4% in 2022

Peruvian exports in 2022 totaled US$63,193 million and closed with a growth of 4%, after presenting falls in five of the 12 months of the year, the deepest being those of the last quarter (October with -6%, November with -19 % and December with -8%), reported the Association of Exporters (ADEX).

“For internal and external reasons, the firms registered an unstable behavior in recent years. After growing 8%, 23% and 8% in 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively, in 2019 and 2020 they contracted -2% and -11% , to then grow 48% in 2021, due to the rebound effect of the coronavirus pandemic),” the union detailed.

traditional exports

Primary exports in 2022 totaled US$44,914 million, registering a 71% share of the total Peruvian supply and a growth of just 0.3% compared to 2021, when it reached US$44,767 million.

The leading subsector was traditional mining with US$35,032 million, which closed with a decrease of -7% due to political-social instability and lack of predictability. In second place were hydrocarbons (US$6,151 million), experiencing a rise of 57.9%, followed by fishing (1.9%) and agriculture (57.3%).

According to ADEX, the items that stood out by US$FOB amount were copper and its concentrates, gold in other raw forms, natural and liquefied gas, refined copper cathodes and sections of cathodes, zinc and its concentrates, fish meal, iron and its concentrates, coffee, molybdenum and its concentrates, and lead and its concentrates.

Despite reducing its demand by -2%, China (US$20,086 million), ranked first in the ranking with a 44.7% share. It was followed by the US (US$2.963 million) and Japan (US$2.848 million). Rounding out the top five were Canada and South Korea.

non-traditional exports

For their part, non-traditional shipments totaled US$18,279 million, registering an increase of 13.1% compared to 2021, the year in which they reached US$16,152 million.

Agribusiness, with US$8,527 million, was consolidated as the most important sector with a positive variation of 7.8%. Blueberries, fresh grapes, avocados, asparagus and mangoes, among others, stood out.

Second in the ranking was the chemical subsector, which accumulated close to US$2,345 million with an increase of 23.1%, thanks mainly to the shipments of sulfuric acid; undenatured ethyl alcohol; zinc oxide and other plates; and propylene sheets, sheets and strip.

They were followed by iron and steel industry (US$1,637 million 86,000), fishing for direct human consumption (US$1,568 million 870,000), clothing (US$1,395 million), non-metallic mining (US$1,092 million 747,000), metal-mechanic mining (US$660 million 789,000) , textiles (US$477 million), miscellaneous (close to US$447 million) and wood (US$126 million).

Record in subsectors with added value

Of the ten subsectors with added value, only six obtained record figures: agro-industrial, chemical, iron and steel, clothing, non-metallic mining, and metal-mechanics. Others such as non-traditional fishing, textiles, miscellaneous and wood did not achieve what was achieved in previous years.

The country that most demanded Peruvian products from the non-traditional sector was the US (US$5,638 million), accumulating 30.8% of the total and increasing its orders by 17.9% compared to 2021. It was also exported to the Netherlands, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, among others.

Finally, ADEX details that the last four months of 2022 had lower growth: in September, 4%; in October, 7%; in November, 4%; and in December, only 2%. Compared to previous months, in which they grew in double digits: in January, 14%; in February, 27%; in March, 33%; in April, 10%; in May, 19%; in June, 20%; in July, 13%; and in August, 19%.)