WASHINGTON, March 24: US wheat exports to Peru and Colombia could double to $400 million a year, if free trade deals with those Latin American nations are approved, a US trade group said on Friday.

Sales to Peru and Colombia took a big hit starting in the 2005/06 season, dropping to about 1.2 million tonnes for a host of reasons like higher US prices and large harvests in Argentina and Canada, industry officials say.

In Peru, US wheat dropped from a 50 per cent market share to just 15 per cent.

US Wheat Associates, which promotes grain exports, wants to see those numbers bounce back, and believes pending free-trade agreements could make that happen. The Bush administration has signed bilateral free-trade agreements with both Bogota and Lima, but has not yet submitted the agreements to Congress for approval.—Reuters