The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says the value of merchandise exports from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) increased by an estimated 18.8% last year.
He said the downward trend in the region’s external sales had solidified during this period, after growing 27.8% in 2021, according to an IDB report prepared by IDB’s Integration and Trade Sector and its Institute for Latin American and Caribbean Integration (INTAL). .
Exports from the Caribbean rose by an estimated 38 percent in 2022, after growing 44.4 percent in 2021. The United States is responsible for most of the increase, followed by the European Union.
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Latin America and the Caribbean’s total imports grew by an estimated 26.3% in 2022, after growing 37.4% in 2021.
The Washington-based financial institution said the region’s export performance was mainly explained by rising prices, while volumes lost momentum.
“In the coming months, the rate of export growth is expected to slow in response to the downward trend in commodity prices, the war in Ukraine, a restrictive monetary policy to reduce inflation and the slowdown in global growth, the latest edition of Trade Trends Estimates: Latin America and the Caribbean found.
“After a rapid recovery in 2021, a series of global shocks sent exports from Latin America and the Caribbean into a slowdown that will last until 2023. Reversing this trend will be key to strengthening economic growth in the region,” said Paolo Giordano, Chief Economist in the Integration and Trade Sector at IDB , who coordinated the publication.
The region’s external sales were driven by shipments to the United States, which are estimated to grow 21.3 percent in 2022. Demand from the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean’s major trading partners slowed dramatically compared to 2021. Sales to China grew 2 percent, 14 percent to the European Union, and 25.6 percent to Latin America and the Caribbean.
The report noted that in 2022, the prices of most commodities exported by Latin America and the Caribbean climbed.
Between January and November 2022, the prices of oil (43%), coffee (29.1%), soybeans (13%) and sugar (5.5%) all increased. In contrast, iron ore and copper prices fell by 28.9% and 4.9% year-on-year, respectively, the report noted.
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