Spectacular growth in Peru’s fruit and vegetable exports could be temporarily disrupted by the heavy rains that have been battering coastal regions since December, killing dozens of people and causing widespread flooding and damage to roads and houses.
Carlos Posada of the Lima Chamber of Commerce said that exports of a number of products were significantly reduced in January and February as a result of the rain.
Exports of mangoes, asparagus, onions, sugar cane, cocoa and quinoa are the six most affected.
Trade data shows that US$40m of asparagus was exported in the first two months of 2017 compared with US$80m in the year-earlier period. Mango exports had fallen from US$132m to US$73m.