BCRP: agricultural trade balance grew seven times in the last ten years

During 2020, the agricultural trade balance amounted to 3.668 billion dollars, almost seven times more than what was observed in 2010, reported the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP).

This was mainly due to the higher average growth in the last 10 years of exports (10.1%), compared to imports (4.3%).

The evolution of agricultural exports is due to the high growth rates (mostly in double digits) of its main products and, to a lesser extent, due to their diversification.

Indeed, the number of products rose by 34.4% between 2010 and 2020 and the share of the first ten products went from 65 to 72%. Fresh and frozen fruits, cocoa and quinoa stood out. “With these results, the agricultural sector has consolidated itself as the second most important in total exports, after the mining sector,” says the BCRP.

In this line, products such as fresh blueberries, asparagus and quinoa rank first in the world.

Regarding imports, most agricultural products have had lower growth rates and their participation, in total purchases abroad (close to 78%), has not changed significantly: the main imported products are cereal grains such as corn , wheat, soybeans, rice and soybean oil.

Finally, the BCRP indicates that the agricultural balance totaled 1,688 million dollars between January and August of this year thanks to the greater rise in imports (26.7% year-on-year), due to the high prices of the main foods (corn, wheat, soybeans, rice and soybean oil). Exports continued to grow at high rates (16.4%) due to higher shipments of our main fruits (avocado, grapes and blueberries).