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Farming provides the livelihood for the majority of Peruvians, some of whom remain outside the money economy. The chief farm commodities produced are cotton, sugarcane, coffee, wheat, rice, corn, and barley. Although Peru is one of the world's largest producers of coca leaves, production was cut in half between 1995 and 1999 due to a determined government eradication program. However, much coca leaf and paste is still exported, primarily to Colombia, where it is used to make cocaine. Large numbers of poultry, sheep, cattle, llamas, alpacas, and hogs are raised. The country has one of the major fishing industries in the world, mostly small anchovies that are processed into fish meal for use as animal feed.
Peru has a large mining industry, the most valuable minerals being copper and silver. Gold, iron ore, coal, and phosphate rock are also extracted. Petroleum is produced along the northern coast and in the Amazon basin, and there is a large refinery at Talara. Peru's principal manufactures include textiles, consumer goods (clothing, footwear, and household appliances), processed food, cement, refined minerals (especially copper, zinc, and lead), and processed fish. There is a substantial tourist industry.
The main exports are fish meal, cotton, sugar, coffee, and minerals. The main imports are food, machinery, metals, chemicals, and motor vehicles. Economic development has been hindered by the country's poor transportation network, which has left large blocks of Peru isolated. High inflation and high foreign debt also hindered the economy throughout the 1980s. In the 1990s, Peru made great strides in paying off its international debt, soliciting foreign investment, and privatizing state-owned industries, even as its economy was adversely affected by the Asian financial crisis. Its chief trade partners are the United States, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Japan, and China.
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