The president of the Association of Exporters (ADEX), Erik Fischer Llanos has shared comments regarding the first speech made by Peru's new president, Pedro Castillo.

His speech was positive regarding health issues, job creation and support for micro, small and medium-sized companies, according to Fischer. However, he left some people with doubts that will hopefully be cleared up at the next cabinet meeting.

“Job creation through infrastructure remodeling, the allocation of S/3,000 million (US$763 million) to the Business Support Fund for Agro, grace period extensions and debt rescheduling is good news, but it is important to think about where the resources will come from, even more so considering the treasury's current state due to Covid-19," Fischer said.

He added that, while public investment is crucial, foundations must be laid to promote private investment, focusing on activities that have already positively impacted the economy.

"The President referred to the importance of value-added production and how the country has areas such as trade, aquaculture, forestry and jewelry; each with potential as well as specific needs."

"Specific measures would support Peru's rebound and exports are of strategic importance considering economic recovery," he said.

The announcement of the National Industrialization Plan and the conference of the Regional Governments and municipalities is crucial. The businesspeople agree with the President's wishes, as we also want a prosperous and fair country that generates wealth, he said.

Because of this, we reiterate our willingness to have conversations and join forces to direct the country towards development, Fischer said.

Trade agreements

Regarding Castillo's statement about "improving the FTAs from the perspective of the country's interests," Fischer said that they had already been negotiated with that perspective and doesn't fully understand the proposal.

Fischer added that the existing trade agreements allowed various sectors to take off and boosted their impact on job creation.

Non-traditional exports went from over US$2 million in 2000 to more than $12.6 million last year, while during the same period, employment increased from almost 570,00o to about 2 million.

"In 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, there were more than 3 million decentralized and socially inclusive jobs," he said.

Referring to environmental protection, Fischer recalled that Peru has faced challenges as 95 percent of the loss of Amazonian forests is due to migratory agriculture (caused by extreme poverty), mining illegal gold and coca leaf cultivation associated with drug trafficking, as reported by the OECD.