RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In the January-February period, Chilean imports increased by 42.1% compared to 2021, reaching a value of US$15.7 billion, according to the report of the study department of the National Customs Agency.
Exports, on the other hand, increased by 9.2% in the first two months of the year, resulting in Chilean products worth US$16.017 billion being shipped to the world.
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In February alone, exports increased by 11.7%, reaching a value of US$6.882 billion while imports increased by 36% to US$7.856 billion.
The Secretary of State for Finance, Alejandro Weber, highlighted that “maintaining the solidity of foreign trade has been one of the main achievements of the last two years, marked by the sanitary quotas that continue to be ratified in the first two months of 2022 with trade exchanges that have registered an increase of 20.5%.”
China continues to be the main buyer of Chilean products, accounting for 41.8% of the country’s total exports, followed by the United States with 15.6% and Japan with 8.1%. These three countries account for 65.5% of Chilean foreign sales.
Regarding the variations in the main export products, it is worth highlighting the increases in other lithium carbonates (888.9%), lithium carbonate with a purity of 99.2% or more (191%) and anodes with a copper content of 99% or more (133.4%).
In terms of imports, China was the main supplier, accounting for 32.9% of total imports, followed by the United States with 16.3% and Brazil with 9.8%.
As for the changes in the main imported products, it is worth noting the increase in the purchase of 93 octane unleaded gasoline for land vehicles (198.2%), distillate fuel oil (gas oil, diesel oil) (184.3%) and coal for thermal use (55.0%).
In the ranking of products imported from China to Chile, the purchase of smartphones and other cell phones (cell phones) and other wireless networks stands out for US$337.7 million, an increase of 11.5% compared to the first two months of 2021.