Living in Peru : your everyday companion

The economic world has its eyes on Peru. Bouncing back from an agricultural nightmare in 1998 thanks to the affects of El Niño and President Alejandro Toledo's policy to decrease government expenditure which made foreign investment significantly slow down, Peru is on the brink of an economic metamorphosis. Its economy has grown on average 5.7% annually, for the past five years and has surpassed the global average in business, fiscal, monetary, financial and government freedom. With local and foreign investments expected to reach $50 billion by the end of 2010 in this country that is a main exporter gold, for example, investors here and around the world are taking a gander at this little engine that can.

Agriculturally, Peru's exports include potatoes, rice, coffee and asparagus, the latter one being export flag product. It is the only one in the group of these products that has been dominant since 1990, being until today the leading product. Interestingly, it is exclusively produced for exports since there is no consumption culture of asparagus in Peru. Recently, Peru has become the world's primary source of high-quality organic coffee. Peru's geography provides for the high altitudes and partial shade needed by Coffeea arabic and has more land available for production when compared to competitors such as Jamaica and Hawaii. The Peruvian artichoke is also a great opportunity for investment thanks to the confirmation of its quality and good flavor by the exponential growth of exports. Finally, the paprika pepper, which is also rarely consumed in Peru and is mainly produced for exporting,is the one of the top-three most important agro-exports Peru has to offer. Its annual growth rate went increased an average of 52.5% between 2000 and 2006.

In terms of forestry investments, here are some of the advantages Peru has to offer: There is great tropical forest extension in the country only exceeded by Brazil in Latin America; numerous lumberable species with great international demand, including several with high quality and price are located here; different slopes and deforested areas exist and are excellent for developing forestry plantations; the potential to export some US$ 3 billion per year of wood and by-products to a world market that exceeds US$ 100 billion; and a quick response for the North American market as compared with Asian market producers. Some of the main forestry products in Peru include wood for plywood, wood for beams and wood for firewood Wood for pulp.

Being a coastal country, Peru's waters offer many chances to invest in. The country is the second fisheries country in the world and the main fish oil and fishmeal producer. The Peruvian sea provides many resources that among them include excellent conditions for aquaculture in both high upwelling marine zones and in continental areas that are free of pollution. An example of the profitability in Peru's waters is that in 2005, Peru exported to 104 countries, out of which 80 acquired direct human consumption products and 62 bought fishmeal and fish oil. Another reason to invest in this sector of Peru is that most Peruvian fisheries products enter free of duties to the European Union and the United States.

The mining industry in Peru is one of the most profitable, considering that in 2006, it counted 60% of Peruvian exports. In Latin America, Peru ranks one in production of gold, lead, silver and zinc and ranks one worldwide when it comes to silver. It ranks only second to Chile in copper production, which saw an increase by 82%, exceeding 1 million tons, between 2000 and 2005. Companies to look out for include Michiquillay Mining Project located in the district of La Encañada, 47 km from the city of Cajamarca; and Bayovar Non-metallic Mining Concession are located in the Sechura district and province in Piura.

One of most profitable sectors to invest in all of Peru, and one of the most obvious, is tourism. With archaeological sites dating back thousands of years and vacation spots such as Mancora beach or jungle-trekking in the Amazon, Peru has numerous tourist investment opportunities. Here are some of the advantages available: Marked increase in the demand for tourist services in view of the ongoing increase of international tourist arrival; dynamism in promoting Peru as a great tourist destination in the most important world tourist issuing market, an aspect that has been favoring the increase of international tourist arrival; active State initiative to support tourism sector development, implementing improvements in power, road, airport, port and telecommunication infrastructure in the different geographic regions of the country; and legal and institutional framework providing a favorable treatment to tourist activities and measures to protect investments and access to property for both domestic and foreign investors.

These are just a few of the reasons of why investors around the world are looking to invest in Peru nowadays.


Information provided by: Proinversión