Covid vaccines help China to export more goods to Argentina than Brazil for the first time

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil has lost the position of the largest exporting country to Argentina in 2021. After a technical tie in 2020, China surpassed Brazilian sales to the Argentines by more than US$1 billion last year.

With US$13.5 billion worth of shipments to the country, the Chinese have increased the pace of their exports and will account for just over one-fifth (21.4%) of Argentina’s foreign purchases in 2021 – a significant improvement from the 14.3% in 2011.

Brazil also significantly increased its shipments to its neighbor last year, but not at the same pace. With shipments worth US$12.4 billion, equivalent to 19.6% of Argentina’s import share in 2021.

Last year, sales of Chinese goods to Argentina grew by 56.3%. This rate was well above the average growth of 49.2% for Argentina’s total imports. Brazilian exports to its neighbor grew at 43.3%.

Among the most important products, China exported to Argentina in 2021 were vaccines, especially Covid-19, without which the Asians might very well have continued to settle for second place.

Before China overtook Brazil, it took over the position of the second-largest supplier to Argentina from the United States in 2010. That year, the Argentines imported US$6.1 billion from the Americans and US$7.7 billion from the Chinese. Brazil remained Argentina’s largest supplier of goods, with a value of US$18 billion.

The following year, the Brazilians peaked their exports to the Mercosur partner at US$22.2 billion, more than twice as much as the Chinese at US$10.6 billion.

Over the following decade, however, this gradually changed. Following the roller coaster ride that the Argentine economy has been on since then, there have been ups and downs in both Brazilian and Chinese shipments to Argentina.