A very dynamic poultry industry will continue driving soybean imports and consumption. Peru’s poultry sector, with its 44 million broilers per month, is the main driver of this demand.

Soybean meal imports into Peru are forecast at 1.056 MMT in MY 2013, a slight increase of 44,000 MT compared to the previous year.

With an estimated per capita consumption of 34 kilograms in CY 2012, poultry meat is a staple product in the Peruvian diet. Peru’s 528 million chicken-per-year poultry market is the major user of soybean meal (meal constitutes about 12 per cent of broiler rations). Poultry meat continues to be one the cheapest sources of protein in the Peruvian diet, total consumption was 930,000 MT in CY 2012.

Total soybean meal imports in CY 2012 were 1.056 MMT. Bolivia was the leading soybean meal exporter to Peru in CY 2012 with 57 per cent of the market share.

Corn

Peru’s corn production in Peru is forecast at 1.56MMT for MY 2013 (October/September), a two per cent increase compared to the previous year. Harvested area in MY 2012 was 296,000 hectares and 209,000 hectares for yellow and starchy corn, respectively.

Peru’s 44 million chicken - per - month poultry market is the major user of yellow corn, with corn accounting for about 68 per cent of the chicken feed. Yellow corn consumption is forecast at 3.5MMT in MY 2013. Yellow corn production in Peru has been increasing for the past five years.

There are about 20 poultry operations in Peru, which control around 1,000 farms. The largest producer, San Fernando, controls about 35 per cent of the market. Total market size for CY 2012 is estimated at $1.65 billion and is expected to increase two per cent in CY 2013.

Informal producers (producers who are not legally established and do not pay taxes) are a major problem for the poultry sector in Peru. These producers, which account for about 25 per cent of the poultry meat industry, are not able to import corn due the lack of appropriate registration with the tax authority and therefore rely solely on local corn. Informal producers are constantly undermining the industry profitability with their lower prices, which result from not paying taxes.

Peru imported 1.84 MMT of yellow corn from all sources in CY 2012, a reduction 3.83 per cent compared to CY 2011.

Most feed producers and large poultry operations prefer to use Argentine or Peruvian corn over US corn. They claim that Argentine and Peruvian corn is harder and comes with fewer broken kernels. The average price of local corn was around $296 per MT in CY 2011, a reduction of 9 per cent compared to the previous year.