The port of Chancay not to compete with Callao's port

Press release from the Association of Real Estate Developers

This is a machine translation of the original release, issued in Spanish

June 2024

The port of Chancay does not compete with that of Callao, because the former is a hub port that is planned to be the direct gateway to Asian countries, a function that Callao does not perform due to its characteristics, stated Mario de las Casas, institutional manager of Cosco Shipping.

He recalled that, currently, for local products to reach the Asian market, they leave from Callao to North America (United States or Mexico), and from there they head to their final destination.

In this framework, he said that companies "that do not need to go to Asia, will continue using Peru's first port and all its infrastructure, which will cause all the demand that exists near said terminal to continue as such."

He pointed out that if the unblocking of railway projects is added to this, the Peruvian logistical weight at the port level will be even greater, since this infrastructure is the "means of transporting products par excellence." He said that the construction of railways would make it possible to capitalize on all the cargo of Brazil, considered the grain store of the world. “If it is not by rail it is unfeasible (to capitalize on Brazil's grain cargo). We cannot handle it with trucks,” he emphasized.

Potential of the port of Chancay

The executive indicated that the new port of Chancay will be vital for the Peruvian agricultural frontier, since it will allow Peruvian products to arrive directly and in less time (at least 10 days earlier than with the current route) to countries with a powerful demand. Only China – he said – has a middle class made up of 400 million people and the purchasing power necessary to buy Peruvian products.

He indicated that this becomes more relevant because, given the eventual execution of irrigation megaprojects, Peru's agricultural frontier will go from 220,000 hectares to nearly 500,000 in the next ten years.

He assured that the port of Chancay is triggering the parallel execution of new projects (industries, connectivity infrastructure, among others). He said that the accumulation of all these could cause Peru to “go through a golden age, especially in job creation.” However, he pointed out that for this to be possible it is necessary to aim at the development of economic zones, which allow the execution and growth of various industries.