Luis Planas and his Peruvian counterpart discuss new areas of bilateral collaboration in the agri-food sector

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, greets the Peruvian Minister of Agrarian Development and Irrigation, Felipe Meza

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, held a bilateral meeting with the Peruvian Minister of Agrarian Development and Irrigation, Felipe Meza, in which they reviewed various aspects of agri-food collaboration between the two countries and discussed new avenues for strengthening cooperation.

Peru is a strategic partner for Spain in Latin America in the agri-food, health, and fisheries sectors, and a solid foundation of technical cooperation and open dialogue exists between the two countries. To consolidate this cooperation, the two ministers considered the advisability of moving forward with a stable framework for collaboration, incorporating topics such as agricultural insurance, water resources, organic production, food waste, traceability and animal identification systems, and regenerative agriculture.

During the meeting, Planas asked Peru to reconsider the regionalisation of African swine fever, so that the rest of Spain can continue exporting pork products, particularly cured meats. The meeting also addressed cooperation in phytosanitary matters, an area in which Spain offers technical assistance in source control and integrated pest management, with the aim of reducing rejections of Peruvian asparagus shipments in the European Union.

The meeting was held in Barcelona, within the framework of Alimentaria, where Luis Planas also met with the deputy ministers of agriculture from Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay. He discussed with all of them the participation in the XII Ibero-American Conference on Agriculture and Fisheries, which will be held in Cordoba on 24 and 25 September, on the occasion of the XXX Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government scheduled for November in Madrid.

Non official translation