LIMA, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Peru has overtaken Chile and Ecuador to become the principal exporter of cuttlefish in Latin America, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism said on Thursday.

Peru consolidated its lead in the first five months of the year, exporting 297 million U.S. dollars' worth of the seafood, according to the ministry.

The figure represented a 57-percent increase over the same period of last year.

Cuttlefish exports grew 57 percent, driven by higher quantity and the Free On Board price, according to the ministry.

There has also been a rise in demand from Spain, the world's leading importer of cuttlefish, the ministry said.

Peru now ranks behind China and India as the world's third largest exporter of the delicacy.

In the first five months of the year, cuttlefish was the second most exported product by the country's fishing industry, after fish meal, the ministry said.