Argentina reported a trade balance negative US$ 938 million dollars in April 2018, the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC) said on Wednesday (23.5.2018), a figure well above that expected by analysts.
With the trade deficit for the fourth month of the year, Argentine trade has now been falling for 16 consecutive months.
In April, exports totaled $5.164 billion and imports reached $6.102 billion.
Imports
The value of Imports in April grew by 22,7% compared to the same month of the previous year (1.127 billion dollars). Prices rose 0,3% and quantities 22,4%.
Imports of capital goods grew by 8,0%, those of intermediate goods by 27,9%, those of fuels and lubricants by 19,3%, parts and accessories for capital goods by 27,3%, consumer goods by 23,8% and those of passenger motor vehicles by 34,6%.
The largest increases in imports were in: motor vehicles, tractors and bicycles (up by US$282 million); oilseeds and oleaginous fruits (up by US$181 million); telephones, including cellular telephones (up by US$88 million); mineral fuels (up by US$63 million); parts for radiotelephony, radiotelegraphy, radio broadcasting and television reception equipment (up by US$46 million); metalliferous ores, slag and ash (up by US$42 million); plastics and their manufactures (up by US$36 million).
Exports
The largest year-on-year increases in exports in April 2018 were in: mineral fuels (up by $162 million), mainly crude petroleum oils; motor vehicles, tractors and bicycles (up by $125 million); pearls, precious stones, gold (up by $87 million), mainly due to gold; meat and edible meat offal (up by $58 million); malting barley and grain (up by $51 million together); residues and waste from the food industry (up by $29 million); fish, crustaceans and molluscs (up by $28 million).
The most important exports were oilseeds and fruits (down 233 million dollars); miscellaneous chemical products (down 34 million dollars), mainly due to lower sales of biodiesel; animal and vegetable fats and oils (down 32 million dollars), mainly due to lower exports of crude soybean oil and crude peanut oil.
Soy Effect
The sum of net exports (exports minus imports) of the four main export products derived from soybean cultivation (Crude soybean oil, whether or not degummed; biodiesel and mixtures thereof; meal and pellets from the extraction of soybean oil; and soybeans, excluded for sowing) registered in April last year compared to the same month of the previous year a a drop of 455 million dollars, equivalent to 55,1% of the increase in the trade deficit for that period.
Business partners
In April our main trading partners (taking into account the sum of exports and imports) were Brazil, China and the United States, in that order.
Exports to Brazil reached 912 million dollars and imports from that country 1.694 million dollars. The trade balance was negative in 782 million.
Exports to China totaled 262 million dollars and imports 1.084 million dollars. The trade deficit in this case was 822 million.
Exports to United States totaled 359 million dollars and imports from that country reached 576 million dollars. The deficit with the United States in April was 217 million.
These three countries together absorbed 29,7% of Argentina's exports and supplied 55,0% of its imports.
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