The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) assists South African Companies to Explore Trade and Investment Opportunities in Peru

The programme of the mission will include a trade and investment seminar, business-to-business meetings and site visits to Lima-based companies operating in agro-processing, capital mining equipment and the Mining services sectors

PRETORIA, South Africa, August 28, 2018,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- South African companies will explore trade and investment opportunities in Lima, Peru from 3-6 September 2018 when they participate in the Outward Selling Mission organised by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) Participating companies are in the sectors of agro-processing, capital mining equipment and Mining services. Their participation is funded by the dti through its Export Marketing and Investment Assistance scheme. The objective of the scheme is to develop export markets for South African products and services and to recruit new Foreign Direct Investments into the country, aligned to the President’s investment drive.

According to the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, the mission is part of the department’s efforts aimed at strengthening bilateral trade relations and increasing trade and investment between South Africa and Peru, as well as other countries in Latin America.  

“This is the fourth mission to Peru that the dti has organised since the technical scoping mission that the dti undertook to Peru in 2013. This was aimed to scope the market and identify trade and investment opportunities for South African products and services. Previous missions to Peru have been successful in creating awareness about South African products and services, and has sparked market interest in complementary products and services in the region. The last mission which took place in 2016 resulted in 84 positive trade leads that were generated by the companies which participated in the mission,” says Davies.

Davies adds that international missions underscore the dti’s efforts to build mutually beneficial regional and global relations to advance South Africa’s trade, industrial policy and economic development objectives.

“The mission to Peru will provide the South African companies with an opportunity to penetrate not only Peru but the Latin American market which is not only about Brazil, but more about the Pacific Alliance, a trade bloc that includes Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico. The bloc offers greater export and investment opportunities.  Although Peru is smaller in comparison to Brazil, together with Colombia and Panama present the best growth and market expansion opportunities in South America and the Caribbean,” adds Davies.

The programme of the mission will include a trade and investment seminar, business-to-business meetings and site visits to Lima-based companies operating in agro-processing, capital mining equipment and the Mining services sectors. The mission will afford the South African companies with the opportunity to introduce their products directly to their target market and key industry players including importers, distributors and major retailers.

Minister Davies says one of the dti’s strategic goals aligned to the dti’s Industrial Policy Action Plan is to grow the South African manufacturing sector in order to promote industrial development, job creation, investment and exports.  To achieve this objective, the department embarks on international missions in order to promote exports of South African value-added goods and services to increase market share in markets in various regions of the world. This will enable South African businesses to access global markets and their value chains, which will lead to them increasing their production, thereby growing the SA economy and creating much-needed employment opportunities.

Bilateral trade between South Africa and Peru has shown a significant growth as it has increased from R827 million in 2016 to almost R1.5 billion in 2017.

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of The Department of Trade and Industry, South Africa.