Argentina closed February with a trade surplus of more than US$1 billion

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Argentina’s foreign trade closed February with the second consecutive surplus of more than US$1 billion, advised the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec).

In the second month of the year, the trade surplus was US$1,06 billion. Exports amounted to US$4.775 billion, while imports totaled US$3.713 billion.

The total foreign trade (exports plus imports) reached a value of US$8.48 billion, an increase of 12.1% compared to the same month of the previous year.

Exports increased by 9.1% in February with respect to the same month of 2020 (US$397 million), mainly due to a 14.2% increase in prices, while quantities decreased by 4.5%.

Shipments of manufactures of agricultural origin increased 41.9%, manufactures of industrial origin showed a slight decrease of 0.2%, while fuels and energy and primary products decreased 24.8% and 10.5%, respectively.

On the other hand, imports increased 16.4% with respect to the same month of the previous year (US$522 million), mainly due to a 19% increase in quantities, since prices decreased 2.2%; and, in seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle terms, imports grew 1.5% and 2.8%, in each case, with respect to January 2021.

All business sectors registered positive variations, except for fuels and lubricants, which decreased 31.1%.

Capital goods rose 42.4%; intermediate goods, 16.1%; parts and accessories for capital goods, 19.8%; consumer goods, 1.8%; and passenger motor vehicles, 28.1%.

The trade balance was US$1.06 billion, US$125 million lower than that of the same month of 2020 due to the fact that the increase in imports -driven by an increase in quantities- exceeded the growth of exports, whose rise was mainly due to the increase in prices.

During this period, the main destinations of Argentine exports were Brazil, Vietnam, the United States, China, India, Chile, the Netherlands, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Iran, in that order, which together accounted for 57.8% of total foreign sales.

The main countries of origin of imports were China, Brazil, the United States, Germany, Thailand, Italy, Vietnam, India, Japan, and Bolivia, which accounted for 71.8% of total foreign purchases.

In the case of Brazil, Argentina’s main trading partner, exports totaled US$771 million, with a drop of 6.8%, while imports amounted to US$852 million, up 23.1%, and thus the balance was minus US$81 million.

On the other hand, China bought products for US$253 million, with an increase of 29.1%, and sold products to Argentina for US$865 million, which meant an increase of 49.1%, so the balance was a negative US$ 612 million.

The most important surpluses in February corresponded to trade with Vietnam (US$235 million), Chile (US$179 million), India (US$171 million), the Netherlands (US$163 million), Indonesia (US$160 million), Bangladesh (US$141 million), Iran (US$121 million), Algeria (US$102 million), Egypt (US$92 million) and Peru (US$86 million).

The highest deficits were reported with following countries: China (- US$612 million), Germany (- US$111 million), Brazil (- US$82 million), Thailand (- US$75 million), Italy (- US$65 million), Japan (- US$59 million), Mexico (- US$31 million), Taiwan (- US$29 million), Bolivia (- US$21 million) and Turkey (- US$21 million).

Source: Portal Portuario