This area consumes most of the imports and supplies half of the exports. Rivers allowing irrigation produce fertile valleys. These allow growing cotton, sugar-cane, rice in the north and grapes, citrus fruit and olives in the south. In addition, the coastal waters have teemed with fish with Peru sometimes having the largest catch in the world.

Peru has become increasingly market-oriented, with major privatisations completed since 1990 in the mining, electricity, and telecommunications industries. By working with the IMF and World Bank on new financial conditions and arrangements, the government succeeded in bringing payments up to date by March 1993. In 1998 El Nino's impact on agriculture, the financial crisis in Asia, and instability in Brazilian markets undercut this economic development.