In 1895, the Journal of the Society of Arts recorded that Peru was known for many years as a coffee-producing country, but the coffee grown on the coast was used primarily for domestic consumption, and it was only later that it developed as an exporting nation. Coffee planting began, and coffee is still cultivated near the port of Pacasmayo. Coffee has been cultivated in the south, in the districts of Sandia and Carabaya, and in the centre of Peru in the valleys of Chanchamayu, Viloc, and Huánuco. Production in Chanchamayo district was facilitated by the completion of the Central (or Oroya Railway) by the Peruvian Corporation.
The Chanchamayu Valley, itself about 10 miles (16 km) long, was in the hands of private plantation owners, while the Perené, Paucartambo, and Rio Colorado valleys, were later linked by railway. The first exports of coffee, to Germany and England, did not begin until 1887.
