Peruvian agricultural exports to the Pacific Alliance grew 5.1% until September

2023 has been characterized as a difficult year for agriculture due to weather events and social conflicts that have occurred in the country. However, despite this complicated scenario, theace agroexports from Peru to the countries of the Pacific alliance Until September of this year, they totaled US$724 million, which meant an increase of 5.1% compared to what was registered in the same period of 2022.

In accordance with Christian Garaygeneral director of Statistics of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Midagri), the positive figures were driven by higher shipments to Chili (US$306 million) and Mexico (US$240 million) that grew by 10% and 22%, respectively. However, she was affected by the setback noted in Colombia (US$178 million), a destination where Peruvian agricultural exports fell 17% year-on-year.

The months of February (+21.6%) and June (29.7%) stood out as the periods with the most favorable results in terms of agricultural exports to these countries. While May (-8.8%), July (-19.1%) and August (-15.8%) were the months with the worst performance.

“If one observes the evolution month by month, you will notice that the months in which there have been drops in exports to this commercial bloc are mainly May, July and August. “The most pronounced decrease was recorded in July, which coincides with the increase in global temperatures, which has affected fruit production and its placement in international markets.”Garay commented in the Special Pacific Alliance Commission of Congress.

Among the products with negative performance are the Palm oil and the coffee. “These two products have seen their exports drop not exclusively due to the effects of climate change, but also due to the behavior of international prices,” stressed the Midagri representative.

In that sense, he explained that last year the international price, for example, of palm oil was around US$1,800 per ton and today it has fallen by half. He explained that something similar has happened in the case of coffee.

Imports fell

Agricultural imports to the bloc Pacific alliance They accumulated a total of US$581 million between January and September, which is equivalent to a drop of 1.6% compared to the same period of the previous year.

In detail, purchases fell from Chili (-4.5%) and Colombia (-2.5%), while those from Mexico (+5.6%). Among the products that were least imported were oats, unroasted malt, corn flour and seed corn.