BUSH VISIT ELATES PERU, BUT ROAD ROCKY

WASHINGTON, March 15 (UPI) -- When President George W. Bush visits the
Peruvian capital later this month, he could feast on an array of asparagus
dishes. Forget fresh fish ceviche, shrimp stew and roast guinea pig, the
nation's traditional delicacies. In recent years, Peru has become one of
the biggest exporters of the ubiquitous crop to the United States, and it
is a position the country certainly wants to promote.

Bush's upcoming visit to Lima is a major coup for President Alejandro
Toledo. It will mark the first time a U.S. president in office visits the
Latin American nation, certainly a sign of support from the Bush
administration for the reform efforts Toledo has undertaken since he took
office last June.

Peru is the world's biggest producer of coca leaves, from which cocaine is
made, and Peru continues to struggle desperately to crack down on drug
trafficking and eradicate coca fields across the country. But with the
price of coca leaves increasing nearly fivefold over the past two years as
the nation's unemployment rate continues to be above 50 percent, it's only
too tempting for farmers to keep harvesting the most profitable crop.

"We are making it a priority to eradicate the coca crop," Peru's ambassador
to the United States, Allan Wagner, said Friday. "We are putting much
effort to encourage alternative developments" so that farmers can harvest
other high-yield crops, he added.

But as government forces snare drug traffickers in Peru and the United
States and reduce coca production in the Andes, the price of the leaves has
gone up. So while the Peruvian government has made considerable progress
luring farmers to grow high-income crops such asparagus and oranges -- the
former now employing more than 40,000 people, according to Wagner -- many
have once again returned to harvesting coca.

Coca leaves have a far higher profit margin not only because they produce
cocaine, but also because it costs less to transport than bulky fruits and
vegetables. Moreover, freshness and appearance are not important to the raw
ingredient of an illegal drug.

"So coming up with alternative crops (for farmers to grow) is not enough.
If we are to be successful, we must ensure that the price of coca comes
down," the Peruvian ambassador said.

Combating drug-trafficking and cracking down on terrorism will be high on
the agenda of Bush's meeting with Toledo, a Stanford-educated economist who
until his election was a staff member of the World Bank.

One key issue will be to renew the Andean Trade Preference Act, or ATPA,
which expired last December. The agreement signed in 1990 gave duty-free
treatment to certain exports to the United States from Colombia, Bolivia,
Peru, and Ecuador specifically designed to encourage coca growers to seek
alternative economic opportunities.

"Renewal of a robust ATPA is perhaps the most important contribution that
we can make to economic growth and prosperity in the Andes," said Alan
Larson, undersecretary of state for economic, business and agricultural
affairs last August when testifying before Congress last summer. He added
then that the Bush administration should go ahead and sign a new treaty
through to 2005, until a broader Free Trade Agreement of the Americas could
be implemented, which would be the world's largest free trade area.

Wagner, who was Peru's foreign minister from 1985 to 1988, said that he
expected Congress to vote through the proposal perhaps even before Bush set
off for his Latin America tour.

"I am confident of a renewal," Wagner said, adding that the agreement would
particularly benefit Peru's textile industry, and potentially create up to
300,000 new jobs. He cautioned, however, that the country should view the
ATPA for what it is, namely a temporary measure to help out a small number
of industries for a limited amount of time.

What the country must strive for is to expand its economic base and ensure
Peru's self-sustainability in the future, Wagner added.

Bush will be traveling to Mexico, Peru and El Salvador March 22 to 24.