Peru's exports totaled 10.068 billion dollars (8.724 billion euros) in July, representing a year-on-year increase of 33.4%, according to figures released by the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP).
The issuing body detailed that this advance was supported by the strong rise in international markets of the country's main export products, with a special prominence of copper and gold. Together, these metals recorded a price increase of 23.2% in the last year.
Alongside this, the higher prices of oil and natural gas linked to the Iran war also played a relevant role; fishmeal, driven by the lower Peruvian supply available in the markets; and lead, favored by the silver content included in its concentrates.
In terms of quantities, the exported volume grew by 8.3% year-on-year, driven by gold, molybdenum, and copper and lead concentrates. Similarly, the BCRP emphasized the increase in foreign sales of fish and chemical products.
With this data, the accumulated exports between January and July reached 66.506 billion dollars (57.625 billion euros), which represents a 36.9% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. This result was supported both by the improvement in prices, which advanced by 33%, and by the increase in volumes, which grew by 29.3%.
Context of the Peruvian trade surplus
In this context, the Peruvian central bank had communicated at the beginning of the month that the country recorded a trade surplus of 9.547 billion dollars (8.272 billion euros) in the second quarter, a figure that triples (206.2%) the balance recorded a year earlier.
Peru has now chained 24 consecutive quarters with a surplus in its trade balance, a streak that would extend to 39 quarters, equivalent to more than nine years, if the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic were excluded.