In 2023, the African country's copper production totaled about 2.84 million tons, according to a report from the Central Bank; while Peru produced 2.76 million tons, according to its Ministry of Energy and Mines.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo displaced Peru as the world's second largest producer of copper in 2023, although it is still behind the Andean country in terms of the volume of its exports, according to official data from both nations.

Congo's copper production totaled about 2.84 million tons last year, according to a report from the Central Bank of the African country; while Peru produced 2.76 million tons, according to its Ministry of Energy and Mines.

Congo has been hot on Peru's heels for second place globally in copper in recent years, with mining investment in the South American nation falling due to bureaucracy and recent political unrest that led to protests.

Peru is now relegated to third place in the world copper production ranking. Chile continues high up as first on the list, with an estimated 5.33 million tons in 2023, according to the state-owned Cochilco.

However, Peru maintains a slight advantage over the Congo in copper exports. Last year it exported 2.95 million tons of the red metal, a figure higher than its annual production due to sales of retained stocks from previous years, the data showed.

Peru's Minister of Energy and Mines, Rómulo Mucho, said in early March that he expects copper production to increase to up to 3.0 million metric tons in 2024.

The Peruvian ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the issue.

In Peru, whose mining sales are responsible for 60% of its exports, giants in the sector operate such as Southern Copper of Grupo México, BHP, MMG Ltd, Glencore, Teck Resources, the Japanese Mitsubishi and Freeport-McMoRan.