On January 1, 2017, the free trade agreement (FTA) that Peru and Honduras signed in Lima in May 2015 entered into force. This FTA is part of the two countries’ trade strategies to improve conditions of market access. It also establishes rules and procedures to promote trade in goods and services and investments.
Four months after the entry into force of the FTA (link in Spanish), Peru’s secretary of trade acknowledged that it had allowed Peruvian products immediate, duty-free access to the Honduran market, making specific mention of products such as asparagus, artichokes, grapes, pineapples, mangoes, avocados, quinoa, kiwicha, cañihua, paprika, coffee, Cuzco corn, and purple corn.
In this way, not only are many Peruvian SMEs gaining recognition, they are also placing their products on another market.
The two countries are also adopting decisions to implement the commitments established in the FTA. The decisions made were on Rules of Procedure and the Code of Conduct for Dispute Settlement.
Peru’s deputy minister of foreign trade stressed that exports to Honduras are currently structured as follows: 81% are non-traditional products and 19% are traditional products.
The main non-traditional Peruvian products exported in 2016 to Honduras included: prepared animal fodder; boxes, cases, cages and similar plastic articles; aluminum plates, sheets, and strip; and sweet biscuits. The traditional products included zinc ores, lubricant oils, and butane gas.