affirmed that Peruvian exports grew 7.2% during the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
Thus, they totaled US$33.046 billion, boosting economic growth and generating important jobs in Peru, she indicated on Monday.
In June alone, exports grew by 11.6% year-on-year, reaching US$6.032 billion due to greater sales of fishery products (+186%) thanks to the start of the first anchovy fishing season.
Exports from agriculture (+34.5%) and metallurgy (+60.9%) sectors went up as well.
Metal mining and agriculture, the driving forces
The increase in exports during the first half of this year was due to the joint rise in prices and volumes.
The contributions from metal mining and agriculture sectors stood out, which offset lower sales by fishing and hydrocarbon sectors, Minister Galdo indicated.
In mining, the commodity that contributed most to exports growth was gold, which reached US$5.744 billion (+51.9%) due to an increase in exported volume and price, thus registering record values.
Copper shipments —the country's leading export product— fell by 1.2% due to a reduction in export volume.
Dynamic agricultural exports
For their part, agricultural export shipments amounted to US$4.486 billion in the period from January to June, with an interannual growth of 12.5% thanks to higher sales of cacao (+166%), which amounted to US$430 million year-on-year and whose prices registered record values.
Following the record reached in 2023, fruit exports grew 6.4% as of June 2024, due to higher sales of blueberries (+87.3%) and avocados (+29.5%).
Vegetable sales fell 4.5%, although onion sales expanded 52.6%.
"This performance is a clear proof of the sector's importance for the development of the national economy. Economic growth and more employment are the outcome of the policy promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur)," Galdo stated.
Export boost
Peruvian exports reached 181 markets in the past 12 months (July 2023-June 2024).
The Asian continent accounted for more than half of the exported value (52%), followed by the Americas (31%) and Europe (16%).
The main destinations were China (35% of the total), the United States (13%), the European Union (11%), Canada (5%), and India (5%).
China was the main destination for exports of minerals (51%) and fishery products (43%).
Agricultural goods (US$10.98 billion) were exported mainly to the United States (35%) and the European Union (28%).
It should be noted that from January to June 2024, 7,266 exporters were registered, a figure 4.6% higher compared to the previous year.