The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) released its export report for the first half of the year, which showed a general decline in Latin American foreign sales of 1,7%. If the Caribbean region is included, this indicator is also negative, but at 1,6%.
Venezuela (–20%) and Paraguay (–10%) suffered the deepest contractions as a result of lower oil and electricity exports, respectively.
Conversely, Ecuador, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica were the nations that registered growth in exports for the first quarter of the year, with 1,2%, 2,3%, 6,3% and 1,3%, respectively.
Argentina, after experiencing a 5,1% increase in exports during 2018, contracted by 2,3% in the first quarter of 2019. The increase in export volumes (2%) failed to offset the fall in prices (-4%). The increase in exports to China and the rest of Asia (12,8% and 13,3%, respectively) only partially offset the contraction to South America (-6,0%), the European Union (-12,7%) and the US (-13,8%). The products with the greatest impact on the contraction in total external sales were soy flour and pellets, biodiesel and aluminium and its manufactures, the report says.
“South American exports fell 5,4% year-on-year after having grown at an average rate of 8,3% in 2018. The deterioration took place in almost all countries in the subregion and only Ecuador was able to expand its sales, although at a slower pace,” the report states.
“The outlook for regional trade presents a balance of risks (…) They depend largely on the outcome of trade tensions at a global level and on the region maintaining a path of expansion.“said study coordinator Paolo Giordano.
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