Bolivia’s manufacturing exports outstrip everything, even minerals and agriculture

The manufacturing industry concentrated 50% of Bolivia’s exports abroad until July 2022, surpassing sales of minerals, hydrocarbons, agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry, and fishing.

According to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), manufacturing industry sales totaled US$4.2 billion, representing 49.7% of the total mobilizations registered in the country as of July this year, totaling US$8.3 billion.

This boost in the manufacturing industry was due to the increase in exports of metallic gold, soybean products, metallic tin, gold jewelry, metallic silver, sunflower products, beef, wood and wood products, liquefied petroleum gas, sugar, ethyl alcohol, and granulated urea, among others.

The manufacturing industry is followed in sales by mining activity with US$1.8 billion (21.9%), hydrocarbons with US$1.8 billion (21.1%), agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry, and fishing with US$499 million (6%), and re-exports and personal effects with US$51.4 million (0.6%).

From January to July 2022, the main products of the manufacturing industry activity that increased exports were tin metal by 52%, soybean products by 47.3%, and gold metal by 28.5%, compared to the same period of 2021.

The increase in exports in the manufacturing industry activity would also be explained by external sales corresponding to granulated urea, whose value reached US$147.8 million.

EXPORTS

As of July 2022, Bolivian exports (which do not include re-exports or personal effects) reached US$8.2 billion, a figure US$2.2 billion higher than that recorded in the similar period of 2021, when it reached US$6 billion, which represented an increase of 36.3%.

This behavior would be understood by the positive variations registered by the economic activities: agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry, and fishing by 113%; hydrocarbon extraction by 36.8%; mineral extraction by 19% and manufacturing industry by 38.9%.

The products that stand out for their positive variation compared to the similar period of the previous year, in exports of agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry, and fishing, were: soybean seeds and beans in 976.5%, chestnuts in 49.2%, bananas in 41.1%, and sesame seeds in 10.7%.

In the period analyzed, exports of products from hydrocarbon extraction showed a gradual recovery, which is explained by the 37.8% growth in the sale of natural gas.

On the other hand, the increase in exports of mineral extraction products responds to the positive variations registered in zinc ore in 49.4% and lead ore in 11.1% compared to January to July 2021.

With information from Portal Portuario

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