Global: Coarse grains markets, U.S. corn exports to Peru down again

U.S. exports of corn to Peru look poised to perform very similarly to last year, having lost substantial market share to Argentina in recent years despite trade advantages gained by the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA). The PTPA entered into force in 2009 and established a duty-free tariff rate quota (TRQ) for U.S. corn imports. The TRQ grew yearly and in-quota U.S. corn was excluded from a variable levy imposed under Peru’s price band system that is meant to support Peruvian producers when imports are priced lower than domestic corn. Non-U.S. origins still face this variable levy. This advantage helped the United States gain ground in Peru’s corn market and led to dominant market shares from 2013/14 through the first half of 2018/19. As most recently reported by FAS/Lima, higher global corn prices have reduced the variable levy on imported corn to zero. As a result, corn from the United States and Argentina, the other major supplier to Peru, have competed more directly ...