The Undersecretary of International Economic Relations, Claudia Sanhueza, pointed out that the results to date reflect the Government's effort to boost the country's exports, both traditional and non-traditional, in a challenging global context.
Between January and May 2024, exports of goods in Chile registered an increase of 1.9% compared to the same period last year, while the Services sector reached a new record of sales abroad, according to the preview of the Monthly Trade Report prepared by the Directorate of Studies of the Undersecretary of International Economic Relations (SUBREI), with data from the Central Bank and the National Customs Service.
The Undersecretary of International Economic Relations, Claudia Sanhueza, pointed out that the results to date reflect the Government's effort to boost the country's exports, both traditional and non-traditional, in a challenging global context. “Diversifying the export basket is part of a growth objective for our economy, because it increases the country's productivity and allows more people to benefit from international trade,” he added.
Regarding shipments of goods, in the period they totaled US$ 41,784 million (+ US$ 784 million), dynamism explained by the increase registered by copper concentrates, fresh cherries, fresh grapes, cellulose, gold, fresh blueberries, iron, fresh plums, potassium nitrate and frozen fruit, among others. These increases offset the decreases recorded in shipments of lithium and molybdenum.
By sector, mining once again leads with shipments of US$ 23,057 million in the first five months of the year, reflecting an increase of 8.2% compared to the same period in 2023 (+ US$ 1,739 million). This dynamism has been influenced by the increases recorded mainly by shipments of copper, gold and iron concentrates.
In the case of fresh fruits, they reach the seasonal replacement with shipments for US$ 4,817 million, registering an increase of 16.6% compared to the same period in 2023 (+ US$ 687 million). The largest increases were due to accumulated shipments of cherries, grapes, blueberries, plums and apples. As of May, the first shipments of winter fruit trees such as kiwis, tangerines, lemons and oranges have already been recorded.
The wine sector added sales abroad for US$ 639 million, closing the period with an increase of 6.9% compared to the same period in 2023 (+ US$ 41 million). Both bottled (+ 7.8%) and bulk wine categories (+ 3.4%) rose. 80% of the shipments corresponded to bottled wines, where blends with designation of origin and the varieties Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, among others, stood out.
Shipments of organic products totaled exports of US$ 165 million, experiencing a growth of 33.9% (+ US$ 41.9 million), thanks to the dynamism of sales of blueberries, raspberries, apple pulp, wines, blackberries frozen, honey, dehydrated strawberries and maqui juice.
However, at a general level, in the period January-May 2024, food exports totaled US$ 5,191 million, registering a slight drop of 1% (- US$ 54 million) in relation to the same period in 2023. Despite the low, the increases in shipments of frozen fruit, fish meal, dehydrated fruit, canned fish and hake, among others, stand out.
For their part, pulp shipments totaled total sales abroad of US$ 1,121 million, 2.9% higher than what was recorded during January-May 2023 (+ US$ 32 million).
EXPORTS OF SERVICES
Service exports set a new record by adding shipments of more than US$ 1,162 million, an increase of 36.8% compared to the first five months of 2023 and marking the highest value for the period since records exist.
The main five exported services were “ hosting for websites and email” (US$ 182 million), “maintenance of aerial devices” (US$ 160 million), “technical support in computing and information technology via the Internet” (US$ 83 million ), “information technology consulting” (US$ 47 million) and “design and development of information technology applications” (US$ 46 million), with the five categories registering increases in their sales abroad.
Other services that recorded advances in their exports were “R&D in medical and pharmaceutical sciences” (+ US$ 25 million), “original software design” (+ US$ 8.7 million), “engineering applied to mining” (+ US$ 4.3 million), “Remote monitoring” (+ US$ 3.3 million), “R&D in agronomy” (+ US$ 2.1 million) and “architecture design for non-residential building projects” (+ US$ 1.4 million).
Undersecretary Claudia Sanhueza highlighted that this sector continues to lead the dynamism of the country's exports, positioning itself as an engine of growth. “This is great news that is in line with our Government's plans to position Chile as a global hub in terms of digital infrastructure, data centers and innovation, central elements for adding value to the country's exports,” he said.
In the period, the country's service exports have been directed to a total of 113 destinations in the world, with the United States, Peru, Colombia, Switzerland, Mexico, Argentina, United Kingdom, Brazil, Spain and Uruguay being the main ten recipients of the national supply of intangibles, together representing 81% of operations.
COMMERCIAL EXCHANGE
Throughout the first five months of 2024, Chile's trade totaled US$ 75,860 million, recording a contraction of 0.9% compared to the same period in 2023 (- US$ 698 million), despite the increase in exports.
This is explained by imports, which totaled transactions for US$ 34,077 million, contracting 4.2% (- US$ 1,482 million) compared to the same months of 2023. In this way, the trade surplus reached US$ 10,043 million at the end of the fifth month of 2024.
