LIMA: Manufacturing activity in Peru will likely grow between 3 percent and 4 percent this year due to a rebound in fishmeal processing, helping to power an expected economic rebound, the country's production minister said on Tuesday.
Last year manufacturing fell 3.3 percent as fishmeal factories struggled with scant anchovy supplies because of warm waters.
Manufacturing in Peru, which also includes metals and oil refining, typically makes up around 15 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Peru's Production Minister Piero Ghezzi said he expects a "very strong" recovery in the fishing sector this year as a successful first season wraps up.
Peru is the world's biggest supplier of fishmeal.
February's weaker-than-expected 0.94 percent economic expansion likely marked the end of a sharp slowdown, Ghezzi added.
Growth, however, has repeatedly missed government forecasts for a recovery over the past year.
Peru's mining-driven economy expanded by 2.35 percent last year - its weakest pace of growth in five years - as metals exports slumped on low global commodity prices.
The government now estimates that GDP will rise between 3.5 percent and 4.5 percent this year and 5.5 percent in 2016.
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