Exports of goods abroad totaled US$ 49,466 million, which is an increase of 1.4% compared to the first half of 2023 of more than US$ 679 million, recording the highest value for a first semester since records exist. .
A new milestone was recorded in Chile's international trade figures: during the first half of 2024, exports of goods and services reached record values for a similar period since records exist, according to the preview of the Monthly Trade Report prepared by the Directorate of Studies from 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 despite the changing global scenario, the export sector shows encouraging data for this first half of the year.
"These figures call us to continue working on opening new markets, with better access conditions for the supply of all our regions, positioning Chilean production in segments with greater added value, which allows us to generate more diversification opportunities and that "More companies in the country internationalize, particularly smaller ones and those led by women," she added.
Between January and June 2024, exports of goods abroad totaled US$ 49,466 million, showing an increase of 1.4% compared to the first half of 2023, with more than US$ 679 million, recording the highest value for a first semester since records exist.
By sector, mining drove the growth of Chile's exports in the first half of 2024, with shipments for US$ 27,725 million, reflecting an increase of 6.9% compared to the same period in 2023 (+US$ 1,792 million ), also reaching its highest value in foreign sales for the first semester since records exist.
The dynamism is supported by the increases exhibited by shipments of copper concentrates (+29%; +US$ 3,363 million), gold (+28%; +US$ 146 million) and iron (+14%; +US$ 109 million). ), which offset the decrease noted by shipments of lithium carbonate (-41.8%; -US$ 1,196 million). All in all, mining closes the first half of the year representing 56% of the country's goods exports.
In the case of food exports, they totaled US$ 6,251 million as of June 2024, registering a slight contraction of -0.7% (-US$ 47 million) in relation to the same period in 2023, due to a drop in shipments of certain cuts of salmon and trout. However, the increases in shipments of frozen fruit, fish meal, poultry meat, canned fish and fish oil, among others, stand out.
While, at the end of the first half of 2024, shipments of fresh fruits reach the seasonal replacement, setting a record in their sales abroad, adding operations for US$ 5,132 million, a figure that reflects an increase of 15.4% (+ US$ 684 million), hand in hand with the increase in shipments of cherries, grapes, plums, peaches, apples and kiwis.
For their part, pulp shipments added sales abroad for US$ 1,334 million, 7.1% higher than what was registered during the first half of 2023 (+US$ 88 million).
The wine sector added sales abroad for US$ 750 million, closing with an increase of 2.4% compared to the same period in 2023 (+US$ 18 million). Both bottled wine categories (+2.8%) and bulk wines (+0.6%) rose. 78% of the shipments corresponded to bottled wines, where blends with designation of origin and the varieties Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pedro Jiménez, among others, stood out.
Shipments of organic products reached exports of US$ 186 million, experiencing a growth of 30% (+US$ 42.7 million), the dynamism of the sector is explained by blueberries, raspberries, apple pulp, olive oil, wines, frozen blackberries, walnuts, honey, dehydrated strawberries, maqui juice and chamomile.
EXPORTS OF SERVICES
In the first half of 2024, Chilean exports of services climbed to US$ 1,387 million, showing an increase of 34.6% compared to the same period in 2023 (+US$ 356 million), recording the highest value for a similar period since records exist.
During the period, Chile exported a total of 220 different services. In the first five places, the items of “hosting for websites and emails” (Cloud Centers) stood out, with operations for US$ 206 million; “maintenance and repair of aerial devices” with US$ 184 million; “technical support in computing and information technology, via the Internet with US$ 98 million; information technology consulting with US$55 million; and design and development of information technology applications with US$ 49 million. In addition, all the aforementioned services marked increases in their sales abroad.
Other relevant increases in the period were recorded in the services of “R&D in medical and pharmaceutical sciences”, “inbound and outbound logistical support”, “original software design”, “consulting in business administrative management”.
in engineering applied to mining”, “reproduction and development of mother material for the generation of horticultural plants”, “remote monitoring”, “technical drawing of engineering and architecture”, “architectural design for residential building projects”, “capture information through the use of drones” and “engineering for fish food production plants.”
In the period, Chilean services have been directed to 114 destinations, led by the United States (US$ 459 million), Peru (US$ 252 million), Colombia (US$ 97 million), Switzerland (US$ 65 million), Mexico ( US$ 51 million), Argentina (US$ 48 million), United Kingdom (US$ 46 million), Spain (US$ 35 million), Brazil (US$ 33 million) and Uruguay (US$ 32 million).
