RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Bolivia recorded an increase in the export of goods that reached US$5.7 billion until May 2022, an amount 37.8% higher than the same period in 2021. The products that contributed to sales expansion come mainly from the manufacturing industry.
The most relevant goods were metallic gold, soybean and its derivatives, and granulated urea, which managed to displace sales of hydrocarbons and minerals. The rest of the products also registered an increase of 38.5% in value and 11.4% in value.
According to a report by the Ministry of Economy, within this increase, the manufacturing industry’s contribution stands out, with an incidence of 21.7 percentage points, accounting for more than half of the total variation.
It was reported that “this behavior is the result of the measures implemented to strengthen the sector, such as tariff incentives for the acquisition of machinery and equipment required for production and harvesting, in addition to the re-establishment of the productive portfolio limits”.
In the case of gold sales, their performance was explained by a combined effect of higher volumes shipped and an improvement in their international price.
Concerning soybean exports, after declines of 7.2% and 5.2% in value and volume, respectively, in 2020 and 2022, there was a growth of 41.5% in value and 23.5% in volume for the second consecutive year, which also reached a record level in value and quantity.
The main markets for this product were Colombia (53.9% share in value) and Peru (27.1%), where it is used to manufacture animal feed.
Finally, as a result of the reactivation of the Ammonia and Urea Plant in 2021, urea exports totaled US$116 million for the shipment of 192,513 tons.
The Bolivian Government prioritizes the domestic supply of this commodity to domestic producers to subsequently send the balances to the markets of Brazil (45.1% share in value) and Argentina (41%), mainly.
With information from Portal Portuario