Peruvian handicraft exports to the United States totaled $4.8 million in the first quarter of this year, representing a 21.7% increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Association of Exporters (Adex).
The United States is the main market for Peruvian handicrafts and accounted for 66.9% of total Peruvian shipments of these products, which totaled $7.3 million in the aforementioned period.
The Adex Manufacturing Department indicated that the total of $7.3 million represented an increase of 0.3% compared to the same period last year (US$7.27 million).
Other markets for Peruvian exports in the first quarter of this year were Canada (US$423,194), Germany (US$228,000), Italy (US$224,000), Ecuador (US$197,296), New Zealand (US$195,241), Switzerland (US$176,000), Australia (US$132,000), Chile (US$130,476), and the Netherlands (US$124,000).
The most notable products were toys depicting animals or non-human beings (US$1,105,000), with a slight contraction of 1.6%, and cotton knit sweaters (US$1,048,000), with a growth of 47.7%. Both represented 29.5% of the total.
Other items included basketry articles obtained from vegetable materials (US$525,155), knitted sweaters of other wool or fine animal hair (US$378,682), knitted cotton cardigans (US$362,132), and figurines and other ceramic ornaments (US$341,422).
Completing the top ten were alpaca fur articles (US$339,915), knitted cotton dresses for women or girls (US$207,664), cotton skirts and culottes for women or girls (US$178,429), and other made-up articles (US$178,212).
In these first three months of the year, the most important handicraft exporting companies were New Expo, Colecciones y Diseños, Art Atlas, Raymisa, Andes Textiles Perú, Manga, Trading Ventures, www.Novica, Alpaca BB, and Royal Knit.
In 2023, the National Registry of Artisans of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) registered 62,583 artisans from Puno, Cusco, Piura, Cajamarca, Lima, and other regions. They work primarily in textiles, jewelry, ceramics, imagery, carving, plant fibers, masks, toys, imagery, costume jewelry, and other industries.
Annual Figures
In 2024, Peruvian handicraft shipments totaled US$39 million, suffering a slight decrease of -1.2% compared to 2023 (US$39.461 million).
The most notable products were toys depicting animals or non-human beings (US$5,910,000), knitted sweaters made of other wool or fine fur (US$3,730,000), and cotton knit sweaters (US$3,180,000).
The markets with the highest demand were the United States (US$23,262,000), representing 59.6% of the total; Canada (US$3,450,000), Germany (US$2,970,000), and Japan (US$1,246,000).
With the goal of promoting these shipments to the world, companies associated with the export industry will be present at Expolimentaria 2025, an event that will bring together hundreds of national and international exhibitors, with buyers from all five continents.
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(END) NDP / MDV
Published: 5/12/2025