Asunción, Agencia IP.- The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) reveals that Paraguay was the only country in South America to improve its export performance in 2023 compared to the previous year, within the framework of recovery after the severe drought that affected exports in 2022.
It estimates that in 2023, exports increased by 19.1% after falling by 5.9% in 2022. It reveals that the increase in shipments of soybeans for processing to Argentina was the factor that contributed to most of the expansion in a context of falling soybean prices.
The report from the multilateral organization states that in South America, exports fell by 5.3% in 2023, after having grown by 16.4% in 2022. And that almost all South American economies recorded contractions in their external sales, except for Paraguay.
It highlights that the fall in commodity prices explained most of South America’s performance, as it is estimated that quantities increased by 1.7% in 2023, driven by higher shipments from Paraguay, Brazil, Venezuela, and, to a lesser extent, Colombia. Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay reported deteriorations in export performance measured at constant prices throughout 2023.
As notable events, it points out that in 2023, the value of exports from Latin America and the Caribbean contracted by 2.2%, after increasing by 17.0% in 2022. The fall in export prices explained the contraction in external sales, while volumes slowed down.
Regarding South America and the Caribbean, it mentions that exports contracted, although there are some signs of a slowdown in contraction, there is still no glimpse of a change in trend towards the recovery of external sales in the short term.
The slow growth of the world economy limits the possibilities of a rebound in real demand for exports from the region, and commodity prices are subject to high volatility.
The full report on Trade Trends Estimates for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2024 Edition, is available on the IDB’s website.