Peru products and services imported into the UAE reached $600m in 2017
Peru’s exports to the UAE have risen by a staggering almost 10,000% in seven years.
Exports from Peru to the Emirates increased from US$ 6mn in 2011 to US$ 600mn last year thanks to increasing demand from consumers and the ongoing work of the Trade, Tourism and Investment Office of Peru (TTIOP), the Dubai-based economic and commercial office of Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism.
Since 2016, major UAE businesses such as DP World and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have made multi-million-dollar investments in the country’s shipping, logistics and energy sectors thanks to the increase in trade and improving bi-lateral relations.
The TTIOP has been able to increase exports to the UAE despite a variety of challenges, such as the distance between the two countries and a lack of awareness among businesses. But the biggest obstacle remains the absence of direct flights between the countries, with cargo as well as airline passengers required to transit through other airports.
“Our greatest challenge is connectivity. It takes around 42 days to ship goods from Peru to the UAE, so produce is often shipped to a port in Europe and from there flown to Dubai,” said Alvaro Silva-Santisteban, Director, TTIOP.
Peru counts the Emirates among its top 20 export markets. At the same time, UAE companies are investing in Peru’s supply and logistics industries as they gain greater access to South America and global trade routes.
The TTIOP was set up in Dubai in 2011, with the aim of encouraging not only companies in the Emirates to import products from Peru, but to also help businesses in the South American country to see the UAE as a lucrative market.
The relationship between the two countries has grown in importance over the years to an extent that at the end of last year Peru became the second largest investment destination for Emirati companies in South America, and among the three biggest trading partners for the UAE in Latin America.
In May 2018, DP World sealed a US$316 million deal for Cosmos Agencia Maritima, the Peruvian container and logistics firm. It is now managing not only the major port of Callao, next to the capital Lima, but also the port of Paita, in the north of Peru, the second biggest in terms of movement of shipping containers.
