IDB: Exports grew in 2023 for only 7 LAC nations

Brazil is part of a select group of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean whose exports grew last year, according to a report published on Tuesday (Jan 30) by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), featuring data from 24 countries in the region.

Citing figures from the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services (MDIC), the IDB highlights that Brazilian sales to foreign markets increased by 1.7% last year. Apart from Brazil, only Paraguay (19.1%), Mexico (2.9%), Costa Rica (16.4%), Nicaragua (0.8%), Panama (4%), and Jamaica (28.9%) also experienced growth in exports during the period.

According to the IDB, the growth in Brazilian sales “can be explained by more shipments to China and, to a lesser extent, Argentina and Mexico, offsetting declines in exports to the European Union and the rest of the world.”

“In terms of products, the largest increases were in soy, corn, and sugar due to higher volumes shipped amid falling prices,” states the IDB. “Good harvests in Brazil compensated for smaller outputs, caused by adverse weather conditions, in key competitors such as Argentina (soy) and Thailand and India (sugar).”

The following chart compares the volume of corn and soybeans shipped through Brazilian maritime ports to China in the first eleven months of 2023, according to the DaLiner data service.

Corn and Soy Exports to China | 2023 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

The Brazilian export volume, without factoring prices, was significant enough that the 1.8% increase in the volume exported by Latin America and the Caribbean last year “can be primarily explained by the volumes shipped by Brazil and Mexico,” according to the institution.

Sales from Argentina

As for Argentina, the IDB highlights that international sales declined by 25.3% last year. “Both prices and exported quantities fell amid a severe drought,” it says, emphasizing that the decline can be mainly explained by lower sales of cereals, soy, and its derivatives, affecting “exports to all destinations.”

In general, “exports from Latin America and the Caribbean entered a contraction phase in 2023 after two years of expansion,” it states. Last year, the region’s sales to other parts of the world fell by 2.2%.

“The reversal in commodity prices and the slowdown in the growth of exported volumes were responsible for the decline in the value of sales,” it says.

Moreover, although the decline in exports from Latin America and the Caribbean “slowed down in the last quarter” of 2023, “outlooks continue to lean downwards.” This is because the maintenance of contractionary monetary policies, the war in Ukraine, the “emergence of new armed conflicts in the Middle East,” and a “scenario of increasing geoeconomic fragmentation” are “restricting global economic growth” and “consequently decreasing opportunities” for the region’s exports.

“Simultaneously, the increased frequency of extreme weather events may make prices more volatile, increasing uncertainty about the evolution of the global trade situation,” it says.

Source: Valor Econômico

Click here to view the original text: https://valor.globo.com/brasil/noticia/2024/01/30/exportacoes-so-cresceram-em-7-paises-da-america-latina-e-do-caribe-em-2023-com-brasil-na-lista.ghtml

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