Industry & Retail

Accounting for around 15% of GDP, the manufacturing sector has recorded strong growth over the past decade. Between 2004 and 2013, value added from manufacturing grew at a compound annual rate of 5.8% in real terms. While growth is uneven among the various manufacturing activities, the sector has been buoyed by strong growth in basic metal products and in non-metallic minerals. The government of President Ollanta Humala is attuned to both the importance that manufacturing will play in Peru’s economic future and to the sector’s shortcomings. In 2014, the government laid out the National Plan for Productive Diversification that aims to promote investment and innovation in manufacturing, and scale back burdensome industrial regulations. As the government attempts to steer the economy towards a more diversified mix of activities, an increased focus on more sophisticated goods with higher added value and less exposure to commodities price volatility should be expected.

This chapter contains an interview with Piero Ghezzi, Minister of Production.