You want to start doing business with Peru, but it's often hard to know where to even begin looking into it. The short answer: the starting point for trade with Peru is, in the end, the capital, Lima. Politics, economy, and logistics all converge on this one city, which makes it hard to talk about preparing to enter South America without starting there.
Lima is Peru's capital and a leading city on South America's Pacific coast. Sitting at 12°36′S, 77°12′W, it faces the Pacific Ocean and has grown as a port city along the Rímac River that cuts through downtown. According to Wikipedia's entry on Lima, the city alone is home to roughly 8 million people — a substantial share of Peru's total population. A population that large means the consumer market and logistics infrastructure have grown right alongside it, which is why Lima naturally becomes the starting point for almost any business venture in Peru.
The same source shows that Lima's position has historically been similar. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Lima was Spain's colonial power base in South America, and it's said to have flourished as a transshipment port carrying silver mined at Potosí to Europe. The era has changed, but its standing as South America's logistics gateway has carried through to today.
In the end, taking the first step into South America comes down to how well you actually understand the city of Lima.
What actually holds up that gateway role today is the Port of Callao, near Lima. According to figures published by DP World, more than 90% of Peru's container cargo passes through this one port. DP World in particular has invested $400 million in expanding the Bicentennial Terminal, boosting container-handling capacity by 80%. The now-expanded South Terminal can handle 2.7 million TEU a year, with capacity for two large vessels to dock at once. Looking across the whole Pacific coast of South America, it's hard to find another port where trade volume concentrates as much as Callao. Understanding in advance the actual route goods take in and out is genuinely useful when preparing to trade with Peru.
There's another reason Peru stands out for Korean companies specifically: the Korea-Peru Free Trade Agreement, or FTA, has already been in effect since August 1, 2011. Thanks to this agreement, a large share of the goods traded between the two countries qualify for tariff benefits, and since Peru was one of the earlier South American countries to sign an FTA with Korea, the barrier to entry is relatively low. That said, tariff rates and customs procedures for specific items can shift over time, so if you have an actual deal coming up, we'd recommend double-checking the latest details through the Korea Customs Service's FTA portal or a local customs specialist.
In short, when preparing to trade with Peru, there are three main things worth keeping an eye on: the capital Lima, home to one of South America's leading consumer markets; the Port of Callao, which handles most of the cargo; and the Korea-Peru FTA, which eases the tariff burden. Once you have a handle on these three currents, everything else — item-specific strategy, customs procedures — becomes much easier to figure out. In the end, taking the first step into South America comes down to how well you actually understand the city of Lima.