Number of exporting companies increases 14% in Peru

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Between January and November 2021, the number of exporting companies in Peru reached 7,983, revealing an increase of 14.3% compared to the same period in 2020 and 5% compared to 2019.

It is the highest figure historically recorded in the same period, reported the Exporters Association CIEN-ADEX’s Global Economic and Business Research Center.

The head of Economic Studies at CIEN-ADEX, Carlos Adriano Pérez, explained that “the increase continues to be associated with a better global environment and the good performance of Peruvian companies in the face of commercial activities resumption.”

Of the 7,983, 63.4% were micro, 28.6% small, 1.2% medium and 6.8% large, with micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) accounting for 93.2% (7,443). In this regard, Adriano Pérez said that “the country’s challenge is to provide the conditions to avoid the high mortality rate and guarantee its evolution”.

As of November, 3,020 new companies entered and re-entered the country, offsetting the 2,021 that stopped shipping abroad. Of this total (2,021), 83.3% (1,683) were micro-companies, 10.9% (221) small, 5.4% (109) large and 0.4% (8) medium, detailed the CIEN-ADEX Exporting Companies report.

ATOMIZATION IS MAINTAINED

Between January and November 2021, shipments abroad totaled US$50,143 million. Of this amount, 95.3% was generated by large companies, followed by small (3.4%), medium (0.9%), and micro-companies (0.4%). Thus, MSMEs accounted for only 4.7% of the value exported; however, they represented 93.2% of the total number of exporters, which reflects a high degree of atomization.

At the sector level, 75.6% (6,034 firms) participated in only one activity, 14% (1,119) in two, 6.1% (485) in three, and 4.3% (345) were more diversified, participating in four or more.

Similarly, 4,682 shipped to one country (58.6%), 2,448 (30.7%) between two and five, 450 (5.6%) between six and nine, and 403 (5%) to more than ten. “Exporting one product or having one market is not good because it puts their presence abroad at risk and makes them vulnerable to possible changes in trade or tax policies,” said Perez.

If only those with a single destination exporting one product are considered, the number rises to 2,869 (36% of the total). Within this group, 77.3% were micro, small (16.7%), large (4.8%), and medium-sized companies (1.3%).

Finally, Lima had the largest number of exporters (5,346), followed by Piura (596) and Callao (594). In contrast, Huancavelica was the region with the lowest number of firms (27).

In November 2021 alone, the companies that sold their products abroad were 3,438, 2% more compared to the same month in 2020. Compared to November 2019 (pre-pandemic), the growth was 5.6%.