The Minister of Commerce and Tourism of Peru highlighted that the export of services constitutes 8.7% of the total exports of goods and services and 2.1% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Peruvian services exports totaled 5.237 billion soles (US$ 1.393 billion) in the period from January to September 2024, an amount 23.6% higher than the same period of the previous year, said today the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Desilú León.
This was stated at the opening of the first ordinary session of the Multisectoral Committee for the Development of Foreign Trade in Services in 2025.
"The launch of this work plan for 2025 will allow us to continue promoting the development of Peruvian services exports and promote the internationalization of our exporting companies, especially those that offer knowledge-based services," said Minister León.
In this regard, he stressed that the export of services constitutes 8.7% of the total export of goods and services and 2.1% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He stressed that the significant growth in the first nine months of 2024 is mainly attributed to the recovery of inbound tourism, which accounted for 67% of service exports.
The Minister also highlighted the performance of the "Other Services" sector, which includes a variety of knowledge-based services, reaching a value of US$ 914 million in the same period, with a year-on-year growth of 9.3%.
"This sector is vital for generating value and differentiating products in the economy," he stressed.
As is known, foreign trade in services is of national interest because it is a strategic and priority sector for the generation of qualified employment, foreign currency and investment.
ASIAN MARKET
The recent signing of the trade agreement with Hong Kong and the optimisation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China will also help boost this key sector by including provisions on services.
It is worth highlighting that the services sector has a broad portfolio of companies to be strengthened in the regions, as is the case of Arequipa, where young people are creating innovative mobile applications, demonstrating the ability to adapt and grow in the field of technological services.
"The active participation of all the actors involved, especially the private sector, is essential to strengthen public policies in favor of the export of services," said the minister, who also highlighted the importance of the new National Multisectoral Foreign Trade Policy that is being formulated, which will provide a strategic framework to further boost exports in the services sector.
AGENDA 2025
By 2025, the Multisectoral Committee will focus on initiatives aimed at strengthening the capacities of exporters, commercial intelligence actions, advice, trade promotion, attracting foreign direct investment and processing disaggregated information by sector, country and mode of supply.
The actions include improving the regulatory framework that promotes the export of services, updating the "Service Exporter's Manual", diagnosing human capital needs in the sector, designing an internationalization program for service exporters, promoting commercial activities such as the Peru Service Summit and participation in international fairs, among other actions.
It should be noted that the development of the first session of this working group included the participation of the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade, Teresa Mera, and representatives of 11 public and private institutions, including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Production, Economy and Finance, Education, Promperú, INEI, ProInversión, the Association of Exporters (ADEX), among others.
