Peru: Key Industries

Peru's economy is anchored by a diverse set of export-oriented industries, with mining serving as the most significant driver of national output and foreign trade. The country holds substantial deposits of copper, silver, gold, zinc, lead, and tin, many concentrated in the Andean highlands. As of 2026, Peru ranks as the world's third-largest copper producer and second-largest silver producer, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), trailing only Chile and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in copper output and Mexico in silver output. The Yanacocha mine near Cajamarca, developed after the privatization reforms of the 1990s, ranks among the largest gold-mining operations in the world. Mining royalties and export earnings remain central to government revenue, though the sector has also drawn scrutiny over illegal small-scale mining and its environmental effects in the Amazon basin.

Agriculture and fishing form the country's other major export pillars. Peru's coastal and highland farms produce asparagus, blueberries, avocados, grapes, and organic coffee for international markets, and the country ranks among the world's leading producers of several of these crops. Along the Pacific coast, the Peruvian anchoveta supports one of the largest fisheries in the world by volume, and Peru has long been the leading global producer of fishmeal and fish oil, a position it has held since the industry's rapid growth in the 1960s.

Manufacturing, concentrated mainly in the Lima metropolitan area, accounts for roughly a quarter of gross domestic product and is closely tied to the country's primary industries. Petroleum refining, textiles, food processing, and metal-mechanic production are among its largest branches. Many manufacturing enterprises were nationalized during the military government of the 1970s before returning to private ownership in the market-oriented reforms of the 1990s, a shift that also helped attract the foreign investment now underpinning Peru's mining sector.