Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Info provided and translated by the
American Chamber of Commerce of Peru (AmCham Peru)

The Peruvian pallar bean originated in Peru and its consumption can be traced back to ancient times. During colonial times, this product was already exported to Europe and the rest of the Americas. This product has the advantage of containing less fat and more starch than common beans, and because of that, these beans benefit the lungs and liver, help the skin and act as a neutralizer in cases of excessive meat consumption. Facing a world scenario with more and more consumers concerned about health, an increase in the demand of these products can be projected.

Then it should not surprise us the dynamism observed in the foreign sales of products as the pallar and castilla beans, which are gaining importance in several markets worldwide. In the case of the Ica pallar bean, the main markets are the United States, Japan, Korea, Australia, the Netherlands, Arabia and the United Kingdom.

On the other hand, it is observed that pallar bean exports doubled between 2003 and 2006, amounting to $5 million in the past year. Even when these figures are limited compared to those observed in the castilla bean, the spectacular growth reveals a great potential. In the case of the exports directed to United States, Peru is actually the third supplier on the market after Canada and Mexico and between the years 2003 and 2006, the growth observed amounted to 1000%. It is important to consider that this favourable evolution could be even greater once the Peru- United States FTA is in force.

Then, the pallar bean case is barely one of the huge amounts of export opportunities ahead. If we take into consideration that the production areas are concentrated outside the capital, this profitable option becomes an important alternative to promote growth in rural areas and shows us that commercial integration increases growth and promotes the inclusion of those that nowadays are outside the formal economy.