CCL: Imports of weapons for civilian use increased by more than 50% until May of this year

Given a panorama of increased crime in the country, the Institute for Research and Development of Foreign Trade of the Chamber of Commerce of Lima (Idexcam) reported that imports of firearms for civilian use have increased, with the acquisition of 3,929 units, which shows a growth of 55.8% between January and May of this year compared to the same period in 2021, which has been taken as the base year.

“The behavior of these imports reveals the need for organizations and citizens to feel more secure in the face of high levels of insecurity, not only at the country level, but it is an unfortunate situation suffered by different countries in the region,” said Carlos Posada, Executive Director of Idexcam.

In detail, during the first five months of 2024, a total of 3,929 weapons were imported, of which 3,327 were semi-automatic pistols and 602 were revolvers, with a value between US$1.2 million and US$148,228, respectively. On the other hand, between January and May 2021 (base year), arms imports reached 2,522 units (2,262 pistols and 260 revolvers).

In addition, if performance is analyzed considering the base year 2021, imports in 2022 registered an increase of 82.63% (4,606 units, of which 4,242 were pistols and 364 revolvers).

It is worth mentioning that the main supplier countries of semi-automatic pistols were the United States and Turkey, each with a 27% share. In the case of revolvers, the main supplier was Brazil.

There were setbacks in imports

Setbacks were also observed in the acquisitions of other security products from abroad, such as video surveillance cameras, whose imports registered a significant drop of 96% until May of this year. Thus, only 10,753 units were purchased, compared to the 263,766 units purchased in similar months of 2021. In addition, during this period, China was the main supplier country for this product, with a 91% share.

Regarding video doorbells, between January and May 2023, there was also a negative variation in imports compared to the same period in 2021, with a 74% decrease, acquiring 3,398 units (US$167,155) compared to 12,936. units (US$297,633) purchased in the similar period of 2021. Again, China was the main supplier country for this product line, with a 99% share.

On the other hand, imports of pepper spray reported 2,376 units (US$14,432), a much lower figure compared to the 3,147 units (US$8,274) registered in the same period of 2021 (a decrease of 24.50%). However, although fewer units were purchased, the value of imports shows a growth of 74.43%. For this product, the United States was the main supplying country with a share of 95%.