Living in Peru : your everyday companion

How to help Small Businesses take the great leap into foreign markets? Through “Exporta Fácil”. This initiative, implemented thanks to good coordination between the private and public sector, simplifies redtape at customs procedures. Hence, now it is even possible to send merchandise to other markets from home or office thanks to the Internet and the joint work that the Customs Administration Authority (SUNAT) along with other exports promotion organisations have been doing.

Peruvian coffee keeps conquering consumers in the world and especially in the United States. Because of that, coffee is one of Peru's main agro-industrial exports. Despite the crisis and constant ups and downs in the coffee market during 2007, the leadership of that product in the ranking of Peruvian exports (fourth place) has remained constant.

Therefore, the approval of the U.S-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement opens a window of opportunity for projecting a further increase in the growth of the exportation of this product to the United States, and the expansion of chances for converting Peruvian coffee one of the favorites of American consumers.

What do ketchup, baby food and paper have in common? These three products use starch in their preparation. Starch, has applications in the food industry, the paper industry, mining and even the pharma industry. Even though starch is normally extracted from potatoes, corn, wheat or manioc, a group of students from Universidad del Pacifico have laid eyes upon an Andean root that might as well be a tough competitor: the arracacha.

What is the arracacha?

During 2007, Peruvian handicrafts exports have been one of the most dynamic sectors. It is estimated that by the end of that year total exports of these goods might have reached US$142 million, including jewelry. This is explained by the fact that more and more people join this sector and are benefiting from the gains of foreign trade.

It is also important to note that this sector is very important in terms of job generation, especially in socioeconomic sectors C, D and E (lowest), mostly in rural areas of the country. Almost 2 million people are dedicated to handicrafts nationwide. Most of them work in groups or associations, establishing small business companies that, after proper preparation, can produce in a standard manner.

By Aldo Defilippi, Executive Director of AmCham Peru

U.S. Congress has decreed a bill about the inspection of 100% of merchandise, which is about to be signed by President Bush shortly. This bill requires that 100% of the containers shipped in foreign ports be inspected by non intrusive equipment or X-ray detection equipment in that same foreign port before it is loaded onto the ship.

This is the Container Security Initiative (CSI). This bill will enter into force by July 1st, 2012 and will imply that in the next 5 years a new inspection system should be installed in our ports if we want to keep on exporting to the United States. The European Union has already stated its position in relation to the complications that such a measure would bring in terms of trade facilitation, higher port costs, delays, etc.

By Aldo Defilippi, Executive Director of AmCham Peru

Supermarkets shelves offer a growing number of organic products that, even though at the beginning they were considered a fashion trend and only to be found in naturist and specialized stores, today they represent an important market niche and it is not surprising that everytime more cosumers buy these types of products as a result of their new consumption habits.

According to the info given by the Organic Trade Association (OTA) the industry of organic products in the U.S. including fresh and processed food, personal care articles, nutritional supplements, fibers, flowers and pet food grew 17% during 2005, amounting to sales for about $14.6 billion.

By Aldo Defilippi, Executive Director of AmCham Peru

Undoubtedly, this December Christmas time arrived earlier for Peru. Finally, our country has a Trade Promotion Agreement with the U.S.

However, it is clear that this achievement hasn’t been the result of merely good luck, but of the hard and coordinated work between private and public sectors at which AmCham couldn’t be absent.

Hence, unlike it is not usual to write about it and I excuse myself for this, I would like to use this section to congratulate and thank everybody for this success: enterpreneurs, government officials and colaborators who firmly believed in this initiative and gave all their support for the execution of all the activities oriented towards the approval of the U.S. Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA)

After the exciting news of the US-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) approval, many are wondering what benefits this trade agreement can offer and how they can be exploited.

In general terms the clauses established in the PTPA foster ways to promote trade facilitation and more investment. It is clear for example that since the PTPA sets tariff liberalization for U.S. goods entering the Peruvian market, now it will be cheaper to acquire inputs or supplies and machinery for local industries in Peru, thus improving their cost structure and increasing their productivity.

Last weekend we received the satisfactory news of the official declaration of the origin denomination for the pallar bean of Ica that will allow our country to distinguish on an international level and will provide our exporters a special advantage to access the main markets. Nowadays, the bean of Ica is the second vegetal product from Peru to obtain the origin recognition after the white corn of Urubamba. However, a lot of products are waiting for a similar distinction in order to improve their development in the international market.

Only a few Peruvians have heard of or know directly about the Tara plant, even though it originates from our territory and a few other countries in South America. Known by science as Caesalpinia Spinosa, this plant, increasingly demanded in the international market was already used 3,000 years ago by pre-Columbian cultures as a natural colorant, but nowadays it is used as an input in many industries around the world.

The main products that originate from this plant are Tara powder, used as a natural colorant for leather and as an input for plastic and adhesive production, and Tara gum, which has a wide variety of uses in the alimentary industry, for instance, as a stabilizer for milk products. Other Tara products are also demanded by the pharmaceutical industry as an input for ulcer medicines as well as those used for inflammatory and infectious problems