Chile’s trade with the world rises 22.6% in the first quarter 2021 over 2020

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In the first three months of 2021, trade between Chile and the rest of the world totaled US$37,842 million.

The Foreign Trade Report prepared by the Studies Department of the National Customs Service shows that between January and February, export flows increased by 18.2%, with shipments of US$20.934 billion.

In this section, mining sales stand out, with an overall increase of 39.6% with US$11.951 billion and a 57.1% share in the country’s total exports. In the breakdown by product, copper ores and concentrates recorded an increase of 47.7% compared to the same period in 2020.

Copper shipments had a positive variation of 35.1%, while exports of iron ores and concentrates grew by 69%. Regarding imports made by Chile during the first quarter of this year, these amounted to US$18.273 billion, which meant an increase of 29.5% compared to the same period of 2020.

Here, purchases of technology products stand out, which as a whole grew 95.1% and had a share of 7.4% over the total imports of the period.

The detail of this type of imports shows that computers and their parts increased 138.1% with US$504.3 million; cell phones had an increase of 45% with US$465.2 million; the purchase of televisions totaled US$167.7 million and a growth of 208.9%; and video consoles increased 246.8% with US$17.5 million.

Undersecretary of Finance Alejandro Weber, explained that “the good news for our country’s foreign trade continues: exports continue to grow thanks to mining, particularly copper, with a marked increase of 39.6% and a contribution to the national economy of almost US$12 billion. Also noteworthy is the increase of exports to China of more than 42%, which is a clear sign of the recovery of our foreign trade, which was consolidated during the first quarter”.

National Customs Director José Ignacio Palma, emphasized that “our teams of officials, who continue to work on-site shifts – corresponding to more than 60% of the total staff – have redoubled their efforts to effectively implement trade facilitation measures, which is one of the ways in which we are able to meet our objectives and show the positive foreign trade figures for this first quarter.”

Countries

In both exports and imports, the ranking of upward variations by country is led by China, followed by Brazil and the United States.

In exports, China continues to be Chile’s main trading partner: during the first quarter, shipments to that country increased by 42.4%, with an amount of US$8.571 billion. Then comes Brazil, with a growth of 32.4% and an amount of US$1.062 billion. Sales to the United States increased by 25.7%, with sales of US$3.332 billion.

In imports, China also appears as the main Chilean supplier. Purchases from that country increased 63.3% with an amount of US$5.334 billion. Then comes Brazil with a 25% increase and US$1.448 billion. Finally, there is the United States, a country from which US$ 3.337 billion was imported, an increase of 9.8% in relation to the first quarter of 2020.

Source: Portal Portuario