01Key Takeaways
- Peru imported $52.16 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 13.4% from $60.25 billion in 2022, pulling back from a five-year peak.
- China supplied 25.8% of imports ($13.44 billion), narrowly ahead of the USA at 21.1% ($10.99 billion), with the top three partners making up 54.0% of total import value.
- Mineral fuels topped import categories at 17.8% ($9.28 billion), the largest single category by a wide margin.
- Machinery and vehicles ranked second and third among import categories at 12.9% ($6.73 billion) and 9.3% ($4.85 billion).
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $42.4B | $36.1B | $51.2B | $60.2B | $52.2B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $13.4B | 25.8% |
| 2 | United States | $11.0B | 21.1% |
| 3 | Brazil | $3.7B | 7.2% |
| 4 | Argentina | $2.7B | 5.1% |
| 5 | Mexico | $1.8B | 3.4% |
| 6 | Chile | $1.3B | 2.5% |
| 7 | Colombia | $1.2B | 2.4% |
| 8 | Canada | $1.2B | 2.3% |
| 9 | Ecuador | $1.2B | 2.3% |
| 10 | Germany | $1.1B | 2.2% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $9.3B | 17.8% |
| 2 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $6.7B | 12.9% |
| 3 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $4.9B | 9.3% |
| 4 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $4.2B | 8.0% |
| 5 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $2.2B | 4.2% |
| 6 | Iron and Steel | $1.9B | 3.7% |
| 7 | Cereals | $1.9B | 3.7% |
| 8 | Articles of Iron or Steel | $1.1B | 2.1% |
| 9 | Pharmaceutical Products | $1.1B | 2.1% |
| 10 | Miscellaneous Chemical Products | $1.1B | 2.0% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Imports Pulled Back After a 2022 Peak
Peru imported $52.16 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 13.4% from $60.25 billion in 2022. That 2022 total was the high point of the past five years, and the pullback that followed was the sharpest single-year move anywhere in this dataset for the country.
Imports stood at $42.38 billion in 2019, then fell to $36.06 billion in 2020 as the pandemic disrupted global trade. Recovery came fast. The total jumped to $51.18 billion in 2021 and kept climbing to $60.25 billion in 2022, before easing back to $52.16 billion in 2023. Even after that pullback, the total still sits well above its pre-pandemic level, a pattern that mirrors the export side of Peru's trade covered in the companion data for this country, though the two totals peaked and pulled back in different years. Peru's exports kept climbing through 2023 to a new five-year high. Imports, by contrast, pulled back that same year after peaking in 2022. That timing gap between the two sides of Peru's trade is worth noting on its own. It means 2023 was a year in which Peru sold more to the world while buying less from it, a combination that tends to widen a country's trade surplus.
China and the United States Each Supply About a Quarter of Peru's Imports
China supplied 25.8% of Peru's imports in 2023, worth $13.44 billion, narrowly ahead of the USA at 21.1% ($10.99 billion). That gap is far tighter than on the export side of Peru's trade, where China outsells the next several partners combined. Brazil ranked third at 7.2% ($3.74 billion). Together, those three suppliers made up 54.0% of total import value.
Argentina added 5.1% ($2.66 billion), and Mexico contributed 3.4% ($1.77 billion). Chile added 2.5% ($1.33 billion), and Colombia contributed 2.4% ($1.25 billion). Canada added 2.3% ($1.21 billion), and Ecuador contributed 2.3% ($1.18 billion). Germany closed out the top ten at 2.2% ($1.14 billion).
A more balanced partner list on the import side is not unusual. Countries often concentrate their exports around whichever single buyer wants their particular commodity most, while spreading imports across whichever suppliers make specific manufactured goods most competitively. Peru's numbers fit that general pattern closely. Regional neighbors also carry more weight on this list than they do among Peru's export partners. Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador together account for a meaningful share of the top ten. That mix of manufactured goods, refined fuel products and food imports likely moves along shorter, faster supply routes than shipments arriving from China or the United States. Proximity has real logistics value for goods that need to move quickly or that cost too much to ship across an ocean relative to their value.
Fuel and Capital Equipment Top an Import List Feeding Peru's Mines
Mineral fuels led every import category in 2023, worth $9.28 billion, or 17.8% of the total, the largest single category by a wide margin. Machinery and mechanical appliances followed at 12.9% ($6.73 billion), and vehicles added 9.3% ($4.85 billion). Electrical machinery contributed 8.0% ($4.19 billion), and plastics added 4.2% ($2.20 billion). Iron and steel contributed 3.7% ($1.91 billion), and cereals added a nearly identical 3.7% ($1.91 billion). Iron and steel articles brought in 2.1% ($1.11 billion), pharmaceutical products added 2.1% ($1.09 billion), and chemical products closed out the top ten at 2.0% ($1.05 billion).
Machinery, vehicles, electrical equipment and iron and steel together cover a substantial share of this list, a mix that plausibly feeds the same mining sector that dominates Peru's export economy, covered in the companion export data for this country. Heavy trucks, processing equipment and structural steel are the kind of goods a large-scale mining operation consumes continuously, well beyond what any single consumer market would need on its own. Cereals sit near the bottom of the list at 3.7% ($1.91 billion), a reminder that even a country running a metals-driven trade surplus still needs to import a meaningful share of its own food supply. Peru does not grow enough wheat and other grains domestically to cover national demand on its own.
Taken together, Peru's 2023 import data describes a country buying energy, capital equipment and manufactured goods from a reasonably balanced set of global suppliers, in contrast to the far more concentrated, China-dominated pattern seen on the export side of its trade.