Peruvian Textile Industry Statistics

Peru's textile industry is knitting together premium Pima and alpaca luxury with mass-market t-shirts to punch above its weight—driving nearly $1.9 billion in 2022, commanding above-average FOB prices, sending over half its shipments to the United States while expanding into 100+ markets and enjoying strong EU and post-pandemic rebounds, yet it still needs to diversify faster and hit the $2.5 billion 2025 target as it weathers the loss of Venezuela and the reality that China buys mostly raw fiber rather than finished garments.

Peru quietly runs the luxury natural fiber world, with roughly 4 million alpacas making up 80 percent of the global herd and nearly 40 percent of them in Puno while Arequipa processes 90 percent of the fleece and the country turns out 3,500 to 5,000 tons of alpaca a year; it also leads in ultra-fine vicuña down to 12 microns, grows elite Extra Long Staple Pima cotton that is part of the mere one percent of global cotton classified as ELS, relies on water-wise Tangüis for most domestic cotton even as harvested area fluctuates between 10,000 and 15,000 hectares and yields top 13 quintals per hectare, concentrates organic cotton in Lambayeque, sees 85 percent of alpaca farming managed by smallholders and indigenous communities with animal-friendly Chaccu shearing and a November to April season, and balances emerging llama and micro-niche silk projects against rising synthetic imports feeding Lima’s fast-fashion demand.

Gamarra is where fashion meets hustle, a roaring textile microcosm in Lima home to roughly 32,000 businesses and 100,000 workers generating about US$1.4 billion and producing 60% of Peru's clothing while attracting up to 350,000 visitors a day in peak season and commanding land prices that rival financial districts; yet its strength masks vulnerability, with Chinese imports controlling 58% of the market, counterfeits costing the formal sector about US$200 million a year, only 15% of entrepreneurs effectively using digital marketing even as e-commerce grew 150% between 2019 and 2021, and half of production outsourced to surrounding workshops, so Gamarra remains impressively resilient, evidenced by 20 million masks produced in 2020 and a vibrant migrant-led entrepreneurial base, and simultaneously precariously exposed as it pursues modernization through initiatives like Gamarra Fashion Week.

Peru's textile industry is a vital yet fragile economic patchwork: it directly employs about 400,000 people and supports roughly 900,000 more, sustains 1.5 million highland family incomes and over 100,000 traditional artisans, is overwhelmingly composed of tiny MSEs led by women and concentrated in Lima, but high informality, reliance on roughly 200 big exporters, underused capacity and higher labor costs despite steady machinery imports mean its modest GDP contribution masks both resilience and real vulnerability.

Like a well-crafted alpaca scarf, Peru's textile sector wraps millennia-old craftsmanship and community stewardship into a market-savvy package that turns practically carbon-neutral alpaca farming and 6,000-year-old Huaca Prieta heritage into a globally recognized "Alpaca del Peru" and "Hecho en Peru" identity, commands a 20% premium for organic cotton, generates over US$100 million annually at Peru Moda, supports more than 50 GOTS-certified companies and a dozen Fair Trade cooperatives, mobilizes 2,500 families and 500 artisans in sustainable and botanical-dye initiatives, enforces 100% effluent treatment in Lima, scales recycled polyester and laser finishing to meet buyer demands, pilots blockchain traceability, and draws two million visitors to Cusco, proving that sustainability, tradition and innovation can be woven into commercial success.