In the period from January to August this year, exports of goods registered an increase of 3.8%, while those of services showed an increase of 26%.
The country's exports continue to show significant growth so far this year, with 793 products and services registering a record in the value of their shipments in the period January-August 2024, according to the advance of the monthly trade report prepared by the Studies Directorate of the Undersecretariat of International Economic Relations (SUBREI), with data from the Central Bank and the National Customs Service.
By the eighth month of the year, total exports of goods amounted to US$ 66,301 million, an increase of 3.8% compared to the same period in 2023 and recording the highest value in our sales abroad for a similar period since records began.
In this context, 717 product categories achieved record values in their foreign sales (16% of exported goods), including copper minerals, fresh cherries, gold, chemical wood pulp, fresh grapes, various cuts of Pacific salmon, fresh plums, bottled white wine blends with designation of origin, frozen deep-sea cod, rhenium, inulin and olive oil.
Total shipments of services grew by 26%, reaching US$1.807 billion, the highest figure for a similar period since records began.
In this sector, 76 services recorded their highest export value between January and August 2024 (40% of exported services), including website hosting, aircraft repair, inbound and outbound logistics support, design and development of information technology applications, financial services for expert witnesses and original software design, among others.
“The export sector continues to maintain significant dynamism, in a challenging global context. The mining industry continues to lead shipments, although we see significant growth in sectors relevant to the country such as fresh fruit, organic foods, machinery, cellulose and services, which allows us to continue with the efforts to diversify our export basket,” said the Undersecretary of International Economic Relations (SUBREI), Claudia Sanhueza.
Exports by sector
Mining leads Chile's exports between January and August 2024, with shipments worth US$ 37,712 million, reflecting a 10.3% increase compared to the same period in 2023, marking a record for the sector in the period analyzed. Shipments of copper concentrates (+34.7%), copper cathodes (+2.29%), gold (+20.4%) and iron (+10.1%) stand out, which offset the decline recorded by lithium carbonate shipments (-45.8%).
Fresh fruit shipments, meanwhile, set a new record, totaling US$ 5,742 million in operations, a figure that reflects an increase of 13.1% compared to the same period in 2023, driven by the increase in shipments of kiwis, lemons, nectarines, peaches, figs, blueberries, plums and cherries. The wine sector totaled US$ 1,077 million in foreign sales, with an increase of 5.5% compared to the same period in 2023, largely supported by the advance of the bottled wine category (+5.9%), which is added to the increase in bulk wine shipments (+4%).
Pulp shipments recorded foreign sales of US$ 1,844 million, showing an increase of 12.8% compared to January-August 2023. Meanwhile, foreign sales of machinery and equipment totaled US$ 854 million, experiencing an increase of 13.1%, due to higher shipments of mining machinery, freezers and electrical transformers.
Food exports total US$ 8.495 billion in shipments, marking a slight decrease of 1.7% compared to the same period in 2023, due to lower shipments of salmonids and fish oils. Despite the above, the sector shows significant progress in exports of meat (+6.6%), organic foods (23.1%), fresh vegetables (85.9%) and dairy products (+5.2%), among others.
In the case of services, the dynamism in shipments abroad has been led by hosting services for websites and emails (Cloud Centers), which remains the most exported so far this year, with returns of US$ 263 million (+64%). This is followed by aircraft maintenance and repair (+48%), inbound and outbound logistics support (+166%), design and development of ICT applications (+59.7%) and original software design (+39.5%).
