A product is exportable when it has demand abroad, can legally enter the destination, arrives in good condition and leaves a margin. Learn the six conditions and how to check them before you spend money.
Goal: Assess whether a product is exportable with the six conditions (demand, legal access, tariff, quality and volume, logistics and finance) and rate them.
A product is exportable when you can legally sell it outside Peru, in steady quantity and quality, at a price that covers your costs and leaves you a profit. It is not enough that the product is good or sells well here. In customs terms, the departure of a Peruvian good to be used or consumed abroad is a definitive export. Your buyer is in the destination market, the country where your product will be sold, and that market sets the rules.
Check six conditions, in this order. First, demand: whether anyone buys this product abroad, and at what price. You can see this in statistics such as Trade Map, from the International Trade Centre (ITC), or in PROMPERÚ market studies. Second, legal access: whether the product can leave Peru (some goods are prohibited or restricted) and enter the destination, which may ask for health certificates, labels or technical standards. Third, tariff: the tax the destination country charges on imports. A trade agreement can reduce it to zero.
Fourth, quality and volume: whether you can produce the same thing, with the same quality, order after order. A buyer abroad will not accept one good batch and one bad batch. Fifth, logistics: whether the product arrives in good condition. Think about shelf life, packaging, temperature and route, because fresh fruit and a dry powder do not travel the same way. Sixth, financial capacity: whether you can produce, wait for payment and cover the shipping costs until you get paid, which can take weeks.
Legal access is the condition that surprises people most. Depending on the product, a different Peruvian authority certifies it: SENASA (agricultural health) for plants, animals and their primary products, SANIPES for fishing and aquaculture, and DIGESA for processed foods. The destination may also ask for more. These requirements are covered in depth in the course on Quality, Technical Requirements and Agro-exports. Here, it is enough to check them before you invest, not after you produce.
A condition may fail and the product can still be exported, if you fix the problem in time and at a reasonable cost. So rate each condition with one of three answers: meets, meets with adjustments, or does not meet. If you have a “does not meet” with no solution, change the market or the product before you spend money. Topic 1-3 completes this analysis with your company's capabilities.
| Condition | Question you must answer | Where you check it |
|---|---|---|
| Demand | Does anyone buy this product abroad, and at what price? | Trade Map (ITC), PROMPERÚ studies, conversations with buyers |
| Legal access | Can it leave Peru and enter the destination? | Peruvian health authority (SENASA, SANIPES, DIGESA), authority of the destination country, your buyer |
| Tariff | What duty does it pay in the destination, and is there a trade agreement? | Market Access Map (ITC), Access2Markets (European Union), MINCETUR |
| Quality and volume | Can I repeat the same product in every order? | Your plant, your production records and tests |
| Logistics | Does it arrive in good condition and at a reasonable cost? | Freight forwarder, shipping line or airline, packaging test |
| Financial capacity | Can I hold out until I get paid? | Your cash flow and the buyer's payment terms |
Result: Three conditions meet and three meet with adjustments, with no “does not meet”. The product is exportable for this order, as long as the company obtains the health certificate, adjusts the label, produces in two batches and negotiates the advance.
17/06/2021
On 17/06/2021 MIDAGRI announced that Peru and Uruguay had agreed the final terms for exporting citrus: mandarins, oranges, tangelos, and sutil and Tahiti limes. Shipments must arrive free of quarantine pests and with the SENASA export phytosanitary certificate. Mandarin, tangelo, orange and grapefruit also require cold treatment against fruit flies; limes do not. Within the same group of products, the requirements change by species.
Ask in writing for the destination's requirements for your exact species before you produce or commit to a volume.
12/10/2018
In an article published on 12/10/2018, SENASA explained that it manages the access of agricultural products to new markets by seeking “the minimum phytosanitary requirements” and promoting international protocols. Up to that point in the year, 79,325 shipments had been counted and only 11 were rejected for exceeding residue limits. Access to a market is negotiated between states, but it is kept batch by batch.
Meet the residue limits in every batch: a rejection costs you the shipment and the buyer's trust.
2026
According to the European Commission, Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 covers cocoa, coffee, soy, palm oil, wood, rubber and cattle, as well as derived products such as chocolate. As of October 2026, the Commission states that it will apply from 30/12/2026 to large and medium-sized companies, and from 30/06/2027 to micro and small ones. Anyone who places these products on the European market must show that they do not come from land deforested after 31/12/2020, with data such as the location of the plots. A Peruvian coffee or cocoa exporter will have to give this information to the buyer.
A product that is exportable today may need new evidence tomorrow: follow the rule changes in your destination.
Source: Comisión Europea – Regulation on Deforestation-free Products
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