The Peruvian Association of Exporters (ADEX) has urged the government to resume talks with India for a potential free trade agreement (FTA).

ADEX president Juan Varilias Velásquez said the call was prompted by the increasingly worse economic conditions of Peru's major trading partners, and the fact India was a major economy with important strategic value.

"The global landscape has changed a lot in recent years, and it's necessary that Peru keeps working for more international trade fronts in order to minimize the risks of crisis," he said.

"The country will surpass the population of China by 2030, making it the most populated country in the world, unlike the European Union which will grow slightly until 2020, the year that it will stabilize and decrease from 2030.

"By having a higher population and being a strong economy, India will demand more products than we could supply."

Peru has signed several FTAs this year that will come into effect in 2012, with the European Union, Japan, Thailand, Mexico, Panama, Guatemala and Costa Rica, while an FTA with South Korea was effective as of August.

According to ADEX's business intelligence area, Peru exported US$232.6 million worth of products to India this year and imported US$496.6 million.

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