Peru’s economy grew 3.47% year-on-year in November, the lowest rate since March, the government said on Saturday, citing a surge in consumption that was offset by a slump in the mining sector plagued by environmental protests.
In November 2020, the economy of the world’s second largest copper producer dropped 2.08% as Peru was still feeling the ravages of the coronavirus lockdown.
In 2021, some mining operations were severely disrupted by citizen protests who claimed that communities near the mines were suffering environmental damage while not benefiting sufficiently from the sector.
The official statistics agency INEI said in a statement that the economy grew by 14.68% in the first 11 months of 2021.
The mining and hydrocarbons sector, critical to the Peruvian economy as it accounts for 60% of its exports, fell 5.29% year-on-year in November, primarily due to lower production of copper, zinc, iron and lead, the statistics agency said. .
Peru’s economy plunged 11.1% in 2020, one of the worst contractions in Latin America as a result of strict restrictions aimed at fighting the pandemic. In the year 2021, the economy grew by 13.2%, according to official estimates.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino)
Reference: CNN Brasil
