Peru filled its entire duty-free corn quota on March 26.

This quota was negotiated under the U.S.-Peru trade promotion agreement (PTPA), which has been instrumental in boosting bilateral trade in food and agricultural products since it went into force on Feb. 1, 2009.

“The U.S.-Peru free trade agreement has helped maintain an advantage for U.S. corn in the Peruvian market,” said U.S. Grains Council regional director of the western hemisphere Marri Carrow. “For four of the past seven years, the country has filled its duty-free quota for the U.S. commodity, and this year will make five of eight.”

In all of the 2014/2015 marketing year, which ended Aug. 31, 2015, Peru bought 2.4 million tons of corn. (Photo: iphotographer/Thinkstock)

As of March 26, Peru had imported more than 751,815 metric tons (29.6 million bushels) of U.S. corn. In all of the 2014/2015 marketing year, which ended Aug. 31, 2015, the country bought 2.4 million tons (94.5 million bushels) of the commodity.

“In 2015, Peru filled its quota in just seven days,” Carrow said. “While this year’s quota fulfillment wasn’t quite as fast as last year’s, given the current market situation with large global grain stocks and a strong U.S. dollar, this consumption is good news.”

Moving forward, the council will continue to be engaged in Peru, in partnership the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s staff in Lima, to further expand U.S. corn exports. Among other activities, USGC staff will continue hosting face-to-face meetings with Peruvian clients to provide them with market information and demonstrate the advantages of U.S. corn and U.S. grain purchasing processes.

“This market and the United States both benefit from the comprehensive trade agreement we have in place. If further trade liberalization occurs on a global scale, U.S. farmers could potentially reap benefits, like they have found this year in Peru, on a larger scale,” Carrow said.

Source: U.S. Grains Council