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The weight of maritime cargo in EU countries in 2022 was estimated at 3,480 million euros, 0.8% more than last year, according to Eurostat

The weight of the economic activity of the ports improves and is already returning to pre-pandemic levels. A Eurostat report indicates that in 2022 the total weight of maritime cargo in all EU countries was estimated to be at 3,480 million euros, which represented an increase of 0.8% compared to the previous year. The economic damage that the pandemic caused to the sector had caused falls of 7.3% in 2020. On the other hand, fiscal year 2021 was more positive, since it recovered. 3.9% of that drop recorded last year.

Between the year before the outbreak of the financial crisis and last year, a period of more than three decades, the rate of variation in the gross weight of maritime transport was 2.8% . However, the annual variation rate between 2015 and 2022 was 3.1%, thus showing a constant growth trend.

Last year, liquid bulk accounted for 37% of the total cargo handled in the main European ports. Additionally, the report notes that the largest single merchandise category was coal, oil and natural gas.

The majority of goods from the European Union (67.5%) were transported to or from ports outside its borders, making maritime transport, in terms of tonnage , in the most common way to move goods. On the other hand, cross-border transport between EU ports represented 21.2% of the total movement in 2022; while transportation between national ports was 7.5%.

Activity in the Netherlands confirms the trend of previous years. The country continued leading the European ranking in freight transport in 2022. The ports of this country (Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Zeeland) handled 565 million tons of merchandise (nine million more than last year ;o), what represented 16% of the total volume of goods transported by sea.

Rotterdam, with 427 million tons, Antwerp-Bruges, in Belgium (254 million), Hamburg, in Germany (103 million), were the most important ports in terms of mobility. These three ports account for more than a fifth of Europe's total (22.5%).

On the other hand, the ports that grew the most in terms of merchandise mobility compared to last year were Gdansk in Poland, with an increase of 40.3%; in second place is Cartagena, with an increase of 17.3%; and finally Constanza, in Romania, with an increase of 15.2%.

Compared to 2021, only six countries recorded declines in port activity between 2012 and 2022. The largest falls were experienced in Latvia, Estonia, France and Germany. On the contrary, it was observed a relative increase in Poland, Romania and Malta.

Inbound movements of goods to EU countries increased by 4.7% to almost 2.2 billion tonnes in 2022 compared to 2021, while outbound movements decreased by 5% up to just under 1.4 billion tons, the document states.

PromPeru reported that a national delegation participated in the “China Fisheries & “Seafood Expo”, the most important fishing trade event on the Asian continent.

A delegation made up of 19 Peruvian companies participated in the at the “China Fisheries & Seafood Expo (CFSE).” This event, considered the most relevant in the fishing sector in Asia, returned in its in-person format after being suspended for three years due to the pandemic, reported the Promotion Commission of Peru for Exports and Tourism (PromPerú).

The fair is organized by Sea Fare Expositions and takes place in the city of Qingdao, where much of the processing of fishing products with raw materials from Peru takes place.

As specified PromPerú, thanks to its participation, the 19 companies reached commercial commitments for US$ 93 million. “Of the total amount reached, US$ 5 million was realized during this commercial activity and US$ 88 million will materialize in the next twelve months,” the entity in a press release.

The CFSE fair brings together more than 30 thousand professionals from more than 88 different countries each year. This year, 1,680 exhibiting companies from 51 countries participated. The Peruvian stand, where the agreements were closed, received visits from businessmen from China, Japan, South Korea, among other countries, according to PromPeru.

Impulse to pota

PromPeru reported He also noted that the Peruvian delegation was made up of 10 companies from Lima, but eight from Piura and one from Ica were also present. Of the entire group, four attended the event for the first time.

Prior to the CFSE, the entity launched In Beijing, a campaign for squid-based products was held in October together with the importer Havesea. “It consisted in putting squid snacks made by this company on sale, using packaging that makes visible the Peruvian origin of the input, through the use of the Peru´ and Super Foods Peru," they detailed.

In the framework of the China Fisheries fair, the Havesea company launched the online squid sales platform Linking Fish, for which it organized a promotional event that brought together more than 100 representatives of the sector.

Currently two Peruvian companies, Fernández and Global Top, have joined the project as strategic partners and their products are already for sale on the Linking Fish platform. During the aforementioned event, as well As in the Brigh Radiance Hotel in Yantai City, it was also promoted. the squid snack.

Within the framework of the CFSE, 9 companies from the Peruvian delegation visited the city of Zhoushan and Shenjiamen. Both locations are known for being an important port and logistics center, as production centers that house buyers and importers of squid and squid, said the company. PromPerú.

Minister Juan Carlos Mathews held meetings with representatives of the United States, China, Thailand and Canada

In the framework of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) 2023 Summit, which is taking place in San Francisco, United States, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Juan Carlos Mathews, He held important meetings with officials and representatives of the economies of the United States, China, Thailand and Canada.

Each of them is part of a work agenda that will not only allow the exchange of experiences and commercial strategies between Peru and Peru and the APEC economies, but also seeks to strengthen our country's commercial relations with the aim of promoting the development of national exports.

Bilateral meetings

As is known, to date, China is Peru's main trading partner. in the world. Therefore, under the idea of promoting commercial exchange between both countries, during a meeting with the Vice Minister of Commerce of China, Mr. Wang Shouwen, it was agreed to work together to conclude the optimization process of the Free Trade Agreement which, to date, has had five rounds of negotiation.

Minister Mathews also had a meeting with Ambassador Katherine Tai, Trade Representative of the United States, Peru's second largest trading partner. and the first destination for agricultural and textile exports. At the end of the dialogue, they agreed to hold one more meeting in the Free Trade Commission of the Peru-United States Trade Promotion Agreement in 2024.

Along these lines, the head of Mincetur held a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development of Canada, Mary Ng, with whom he agreed to work together in spaces such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Talks will resume for a Peru-Thailand FTA

As part of the trade opening policies promoted by Mincetur so that Peruvian products reach more markets in the world, the head of the sector also agreed to with the Assistant Minister of Commerce of Thailand, Napintorn Srisunpang, resume work in the short term for the signing of a Free Trade Agreement between both countries.

At this point, it is necessary to mention that, to date, the Fourth Additional Protocol Peru is in force. – Thailand, which allows improving conditions in the issuance of certificates of origin, direct transportation, operational procedures, among others.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) announced That the Government has been working on the implementation of a series of measures to protect commercial exchange

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) has been working together with other State entities to promote improvements to the foreign trade logistics chain in Peru.

“With this, we seek to mitigate any event that may occur in the logistics chain of foreign trade, due to actions such as illicit drug trafficking and insecurity, which could damage the “image of the country and the companies,” indicated Juan Carlos Mathews, Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism.

It is worth remembering that there have been cases of theft of goods and contamination of containers. Due to this, the authorities of the Peruvian government and the private sector came together to enhance joint work and accelerate the implementation of measures against these illicit acts.

First actions

As detailed The Mincetur in a press release, at the high-level meeting, reported on three first measures that will be taken by the State to guarantee the security of exports and imports.

The first will be The upcoming launch of the scanners at the APM Terminales port terminal and at the Santa Rosa Border Assistance Center (Tacna), which will allow increase the detection capacity of possible cases of cargo contamination.

The second, promote the creation of the Committee of Protection of the Port of Callao that will carry out constant evaluations and diagnoses to improve the security of port terminals.

The third is that the General Directorate of Captaincies and Coast Guard (Dicapi) will modernize the maritime traffic service of the port of Callao thanks to the VTS system, which will allow substantively improve security in the bay of the port of Callao, indicated the wallet.

“All this, added to the intelligence strategy and measures adopted by the Ministry of the Interior (Mininter), seeks to mitigate the security problem within the logistics chain,” the Mincetur in its statement.

Institutions involved

As part of the high-level meeting, Mincetur authorities were present - apart from the minister - such as the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade, Teresa Mera. Likewise, the Vice Ministers of Internal Order and Transportation, Miguel Ángel Núñez and Ismael Sutta, were present.

On behalf of the private sector, spokespeople from unions such as the Association of Exporters (ADEX), the Chamber of Commerce of Lima (CCL), the Association of Agricultural Producers Guilds of Peru and the Peruvian Association of Agricultural Producers of Peru attended. (AGAP), among others.

Officials from the National Port Authority (APN), Sunat and Devida also attended, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Midagri), the Chancellery, the Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. a and Dicapi.

From July 2022 to January 2023, more than 10 work meetings were held with Sunat, APN, Dirandro and Devida, as well as as with the AGAP and Basc Perú unions, with the purpose of identifying the problem and preparing a proposed work plan for the Technical Team.

We are expanding in Asia! The fruit enters free of tariffs due to the Economic Association Agreement between said country and Peru. There are 26 varieties of the national fruit that will be available to 125 million consumers in the Asian country, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This Friday, October 20, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported: The entry into Japan of the first shipment of Peruvian grapes imported by the company Fresh del Monte Japan, a company that plans to acquire 60 containers as an initial test.

According to the Foreign Ministry, this first batch was received by the Ambassador of Peru in Japan, Roberto Seminario Portocarrero. The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism highlighted That this shipment specifies the opening of the Japanese market for Peruvian grapes, which is the result of joint work by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, through the National Agrarian Health Service – SENASA, and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism.

Entry into a new market

The Mincetur highlighted that the Japanese market, with 125 million consumers, is already open for the consumption of these 26 varieties of Peruvian grapes, one of the most successful fruits in the national exportable supply.

In 2022, grape exports were recorded to 53 foreign markets, for an amount of US$ 1,362 million, a figure that represented a growth of 8.9% compared to the previous year. The departments that benefit the most from this trade flow are Ica, Piura, Lambayeque, and La Libertad, the main exporting regions of this product.

Let us emphasize that fresh Peruvian grapes enjoy access to Japan free of tariffs, under the Economic Association Agreement between Peru and Japan. and Japan (seasonally) and under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Peru is one of the most open economies in Latin America, as it has 22 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in force. More than 90% of the total of what Peru exports and imports is made with these countries.

The Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur), Juan Carlos Mathews, stated that Peru is one of the most open economies in Latin America, having Free Trade Agreements (FTA) in force with 22 countries, within the framework of his presentation of advances in state policies and actions for the reactivation of his sector in the Foreign Trade and Tourism Commission of the Congress of the Republic.

More than 90% of the total of what Peru exports and imports is made with countries with which it has an FTA. Likewise, he noted that the country is in an advanced negotiation process with Hong Kong, the next round of which will take place in October.

On the other hand, Mincetur has been resuming negotiations with India, as was made public this year, the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade, Teresa Mera, was invited by that government.

“There was quite favorable news. This could mean, in terms of even deadlines for next year, having quite interesting developments regarding an economy that is already reaching, if not already surpassing, mainland China in population,” said Mathews.

Meanwhile, he reported that with Indonesia they have formalized the start of negotiations that would take place before the end of the year, starting with a virtual round.

“In addition to some negotiations with Central America that are not minor and that, for many MYPES, end up being the main market,” he added.

Multilateral negotiation space

Mathews noted that Peru's participation in the Pacific Alliance (PA) is not only about promoting bilateral trade, but also about establishing global value chains to sell to larger markets, such as the Asian market itself, which, for Peru is a relevant market and it is not so relevant for the rest of the AP countries.

“It is encouraging news not only for commerce and negotiation but for the tourist flow. Next year we will be in the world's spotlight. As the Port of Chancay phase is going to be completed, we are planning the official visit of the Chinese president,” he added.

Peru integrating the world

As recalled, Peru has 22 trade agreements in force to date. These are with: United States, Cuba, Mercosur, the Trade Protocol of the Pacific Alliance, the Andean Community, Chile, Canada, Singapore, China, Thailand, Mexico, Japan, the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) , South Korea, the European Union, Panama, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Honduras, Australia, the United Kingdom and the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The dedication and willingness to put into practice what I learned academically, added to the experience gained in international cargo transportation logistics, was one of the driving forces behind my two partners and I bringing this project to life more than 11 years ago. which later became a reality.

Only the independence that being the owner of your own projects and objectives gives you is what allows you to shape that accumulation of ideas, steps, details, concepts and turn them into something with a structure, with an essence, Your essence!

When we talk about cargo transportation logistics and international trade, we can think very technically that everything is written and said, reducing ourselves to just talking about incoterms or types of cargo. In fact, large air and maritime transportation corporations or port and airport operators and customs themselves can streamline the operation and outline many processes at a macro level.

However, all this can lead one to mistakenly think that everything is already established, like a law written on stone, immutable. That is when our approach made us see that a service can be provided that meets the specific need of an importer/exporter.

Our idea when creating FAM LOGISTICS CARGO was not aimed at changing the macro processes of foreign trade but rather at giving personalization to the service. It was to make the client notice that with a transparent service and knowing the particular needs of each company, alternatives can be provided that are in line with those needs. “Not everything is for everyone.” That is why we have always been and are careful in offering international transportation options, handling, etc., since not everything is limited to an international transportation freight price, but rather obeys a greater purpose, "taking care of the integrity of the merchandise." ” which is under our management.

FAM LOGISTICS CARGO was a goal of 3 professionals, 3 people, placing commitment at the top of the values of this company, an authentic commitment that comes from putting oneself in the shoes of the importer/exporter, from knowing that each assigned shipment is trust placed in our hands and that for that fact alone must be treated in the best possible way.

I can proudly say that the commitment to these values and objectives bore fruit and neither the fierce competition based on costs, economic crises nor the pandemic weakened FAM, but rather it always managed to remain stable and was building a well-earned name in the field of freight forwarding and international transport logistics.