Peru's food and drink exports to the European Union (E.U.) from January to July this year stood at US$1.044 billion, website Agraria.pe reported.

The Lima Chamber of Commerce Foreign Trade Center (CCEX) said this represented a year-on-year growth of 43%.

The top 10 Peruvian products included avocados (fresh or dried), mango (fresh or dried), Cavendish bananas and fresh asparagus.

Other popular foods were coffee, shellfish, squid, preserved scallops (frozen or dried), piquillo peppers and paprika.

Spain, the Netherlands and Germany accounted for two thirds of all shipments (24%, 22% and 20% respectively) followed by Belgium with 10%, France (9%), UK (6%) and Italy (5%).

The E.U. accounts for more than 40% of Peruvian shipments, followed by North America  (24.5%),  Asia (11.2%) and neighboring Latin American countries (8.41%), among others.

The Chamber attributed the growth to European Commission-funded programs to support Latin American small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), such as AL-Invest IV.

Since the program started in 2009 82 SMEs had been involved in nine recognized international food and drink fairs generating business of more than € 72 million (US$100 million).

It said it would continue to promote Peruvian food and drink companies at international fairs with help from AL-Invest IV.

Photo: Flickr, Theodore Scott

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