Agro, Business, Energy, Mining

China overtakes U.S. as Peru’s top destination for exports in Jan-Feb

China overtook the United States as Peru’s top destination for exports in the first two months of 2011, state news agency Andina reported.

Peruvian exports to China totaled $926 million in the January-February period, up 18 percent from the year-ago period. Ninety-five percent of Chinese imports from Peru are raw materials, mainly minerals, according to the export association Adex.

Exports to the United States jumped 8 percent to $889 million, Adex said.

Meanwhile, the market that saw the biggest increase in its imports of Peruvian products was South Korea. Peruvian exports to the Asian country soared 245 percent on the demand for natural gas.

Exports also rose 238 percent to India, 135 percent to Mexico, while Canada, Switzerland and Japan also saw large increases.

Shipments from Peru’s traditional sectors – which includes mining, agriculture, hydrocarbons, and fish meal – totaled $4.53 billion, up 12 percent from $4.06 billion in 2010.

But the biggest jump was seen in Peru’s non-traditional exports, which rose 56 percent to $1.03 billion in the first two months of this year.

In 2010, Peruvian exports rose 31.1 percent to a record $35.4 billion compared to $26.7 billion in 2009 and $31.0 billion in 2008.

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