Argentina's trade balance reached $612 million in October, reflecting the general downturn of the economy, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC).
In October, the exports they reached 4.616 million, which represented a 21,6% year-on-year drop, while the imports registered a 2,8% drop when adding 4.004 million.
The drop in foreign sales occurred in all sectorsThe most significant drop was 56,7% and corresponded to fuels and energy, followed by primary products, which fell 34,4%, industrial manufactures and agricultural manufactures, which decreased 23,7% and 4,2%, respectively.
In the case of imports, quantities fell by 5,8% and prices rose by 3,2%. At the level of economic use, fuels and lubricants decreased by 36,3%; parts and accessories for capital goods by 21,1%; capital goods by 10,9%; and consumer goods by 7,7%. Meanwhile, imports of passenger motor vehicles increased by 50,4%; and intermediate goods by 14,1%.
The trade surplus of $612 million was $1.156 billion lower than in the same month of 2019.
Exports have fallen by 13,5% this year, while imports have fallen by 19,3%. The positive balance amounts to US$ 12.171 billion.
The main trading partners were Brazil, China and the United States.
Exports to Brazil reached US$ 725 million and imports, US$ 886 million. Exports to China totaled US$ 433 million and imports, US$ 859 million. Exports to the United States were US$ 262 million and imports, US$ 379 million.
These three countries absorbed 30,8% of Argentina's exports and supplied 53,0% of its imports.
The three main countries with a surplus were India ($196 million), Chile ($187 million) and Peru ($126 million).
With these data, the country is experiencing its third year of recession in 2020 and faces a large deficit in its public accounts, which is why it needs, among other factors, to increase foreign currency earnings through greater exports.
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