On September 1 this year, a historic milestone was achieved in
It also provides clear rules of origin, predictable customs procedures, and an institutional framework for resolving disputes—features that Peruvian exporting companies value as much as, or even more than, the tariff reduction itself.
Trade
The potential opened up by this agreement is considerable and deserves to be measured using concrete figures.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Midagri), Hong Kong imports US$20.948 billion worth of agricultural goods from around the world and exports just US$9.788 billion. This represents a sectoral deficit of US$11.16 billion, revealing substantial unmet demand.
Peru, which in its best year exported US$275 million worth of fruits and vegetables, now has a potential market segment worth over US$7 billion.
Blueberries, grapes, avocados, citrus fruits, mangoes, asparagus, and frozen fruits represent the most immediate opportunities.
Meanwhile, sauces, bakery products, and processed chocolate offer a second wave of still-untapped growth.
Capitalizing on this open door, however, requires looking beyond the legal text and harnessing market opportunities.
Blueberries, avocados, and grapes accounted for 93% of export value in 2025. Meanwhile, the 62% collapse recorded that year, followed by another 50% decline in the first half of 2026, exposed the extent to which the trade balance depends on just three crops.
Behind this volatility lies a factor that no tariff chapter can address: physical climate risk.
Droughts, out-of-season frosts, early flowering, and water stress affect fruit sizes, harvest windows, and exportable volumes before any trade preference comes into play.
This agricultural uncertainty undermines precisely the predictability of revenue that the agreement seeks to provide.
Impact
For exporters, the practical implication is clear and calls for concrete investment decisions: the challenge is no longer solely commercial.
Operational resilience in the face of climate events, varietal and geographic diversification of farms, and investment in modern irrigation systems are becoming just as critical as logistics capex allocated to cold-chain infrastructure or to harnessing the Chancay corridor.
Those who concentrate their supply on three fruits and a handful of valleys will face a growing opportunity cost whenever the climate, rather than the Asian market, determines the volume shipped.
The agreement with Hong Kong therefore provides a genuine trade opportunity that the sector has long awaited; its future profitability, however, will depend on agroclimatic management, which currently appears to be at an incipient stage.
Peruvian export agriculture needs to shield its supply from climate variability with the same discipline it applied to negotiating tariff preferences, because no certificate of origin can protect a crop that simply never reaches the port on time.
Employment
The agricultural export sector employs thousands of rural families whose incomes depend on the pace of shipments to Asia.
Every decline in blueberry or avocado exports directly affects harvest, packing, and transportation jobs in regions such as Ica and La Libertad.
The agreement with Hong Kong, by creating opportunities for processed products and less-explored fruits, offers a way to sustain and expand formal agricultural employment, provided that diversification soon replaces the current concentration.
Publicado: 21/9/2026