Agri-export Potential Can Boost Peru’s Development

“In 2005, 33% of Peru’s economically active population (EAP) was in the agricultural sector, and in 2018, this percentage stood at 25%. The growth of labor productivity, however, was 76%,” said the executive president of CAF—development bank of Latin America—Luis Carranza, to highlight the potential of the agri-export sector for national development, during his presentation at the 2019 Annual Conference of Executives (CADE).

“This sector is an example of job-creating, poverty-reducing development. Between 2000 and 2018, there was an increase in the actual purchasing power of workers in this sector. Peru can create two million new direct and indirect jobs by using 442,000 hectares for agro-export,” Carranza said.

To take the development leap required by Peru and Latin America as a whole, the executive president of CAF referred to a number of strategic areas such as education, institutions, efficiency in public spending, infrastructure and market competition. “We must place a greater emphasis on education because rather than short-term economic return, it will ensure in the medium-term middle classes that are more committed to their countries.”