2023 was shaping up to be a difficult year for foreign trade. Argentina's trade balance registered a Negative balance of USD 6.926 billion, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec).
According to the report, released on Thursday (18.01.2024), the volume of trade (exports plus imports) was USD 140.502 billion in the last year, which implies a drop of 17,3% compared to 2022.
According to Indec, Argentina achieved exports for USD 66.788 million, with a decrease compared to 2022 of 24,5% against imports for USD 73.714 million, which meant a decline of 9,6%.
The deterioration in sales occurred both in quantities (-16,4%) and in prices (-9,7%). Thus, the large items that decreased were Primary products (-39,4%) and Manufactures of agricultural origin (-27,9%), followed by Manufactures of industrial origin (-10,4%) and Fuels and energy (-7,4%)
Meanwhile, imports by economic uses reached the following percentage variation with respect to the same period of the previous year: Capital goods (-11,3%), Industrial goods (-5,0%), Fuels and lubricants (-38,6%)Parts and Accessories (6,2%) and Capital Goods (-7,3%), Passenger Motor Vehicles (-7,4%) and Others (-17,2%).
Regarding Argentina's participation in the marketsBrazil was the first destination for exports (17,8%), followed by the United States (8,5%) and China (7,9%), respectively.
December
According to Indec, the trade balance in December closed positive for the second time in the year, with $1.018 million in the month. Exports totaled USD 5.273 billion (a decrease of 13,8%) and imports reached USD 4.255 billion (a drop of 15,2%).
Last February was the other month of 2023 with a trade surplus.
Despite this, the annual result of foreign trade was in deficit. Argentina had a surplus of USD 6.923 million in 2022 and a positive balance of USD 14.751 million recorded in 2021.
What factors have driven the decline in exports in 2023?
Weather phenomena, external factors such as lower demand and falling prices in the commodities, had an impact on the country's shipments abroad.
Additionally, the shortage of monetary reserves generated a significant effect on both imports and exports during 2023. (Argentine trade. Estimated figures for December 2023)
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