In the first six months of 2023, Bolivia’s exports dropped by 25% compared to the same period in 2022.
This decline led to a US$78 million trade deficit, as the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade (IBCE) reported based on data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Reports showed exports declined from US$7.292 billion in the first six months of the previous year to $5.499 billion in the first half of 2023, translating to a decrease of US$1.793 billion.
Gary Rodríguez, the Chief Economist at IBCE, mentioned that the dip in Bolivian exports, especially of traditional products, was primarily due to fluctuating international prices of raw materials.
He noted significant downturns in non-traditional economic activities such as agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry, and fishing, which saw a decline of 28%.
Furthermore, hydrocarbon extraction plummeted by 24.4%, while mineral extraction dropped 19.8%.
The manufacturing sector, another non-traditional product segment, experienced a substantial reduction of 26.4%.
The data also indicated an import increase of US$19 million, leading to the aforementioned trade deficit.
This contrasts with the first half of 2022, which registered a surplus of US$1.734 billion.
Regarding export destinations for the first half of 2023, Brazil topped the list with 15%, followed by India (12%) and Colombia (10%).