There is a new agreement to open all barriers on U.S. beef exports to Peru.

The announcement was March 14 by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. trade representative Michael Froman, according to a news release.

The beef export barriers went into effect in 2003, but the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement in 2009 opened some of those barriers.

Beef and beef products exported in 2015 to Peru from the U.S. equaled $25.4 million, and with the final barrier lifts, there is room for further growth.

The trade of fish, agricultural and forestry products grew 110 percent between 2009 and 2015. In 2015, the trade of those products was more than $3 billion.

“Since 2003, USDA and USTR have worked diligently to reopen and expand markets once closed to U.S. beef,” Vilsack said in the news release. “This is another win in a long line of successes that led to a near-record U.S. beef and beef product exports in 2015.”

-Staff reports