Peru coca growers end road blockade, open talks

LIMA: Coca growers in eastern Peru ended their blockade of a key highway Thursday and opened talks with the government on plans to eradicate the crop, their representatives said.

A delegation of growers met in Lima with Interior Minister Oscar Valdes, said the national coca grower federation's chief Serafin Lujan, calling the meeting "positive."

"It was a positive sign and we understand there will be a continued dialogue," he added.

Police in Pucallpa, capital of the Ucayali region that has been the scene of protests, confirmed that the main east-west highway had been reopened after blockages since the weekend.

Coca growers had been blocking highways with stones and tree trunks, in protest over the back-and-forth moves by President Ollanta Humala on coca eradication efforts.

Last month, Peru suspended its coca eradication program carried out with the United States, then restarted it.

Peru became the world's largest producer of coca leaf last year, overtaking Colombia, where production has seen a steady decline, according to UN figures.

The 2011 UN Office on Drugs and Crime report said Peru had 61,200 hectares (151,000 acres) of coca under cultivation in 2010, two percent more than in the previous year.

Peruvian officials estimated that the amount of cocaine produced in the country in 2010 was 330 tonnes, close to the estimated 350 tonnes produced by Colombia.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011