According to official figures, exports of goods reached US$ 74,154.3 million, an increase of 4.3% compared to the same period last year.

The Government of Chile, through the Undersecretariat of International Economic Relations (Subrei), reported that the export sector figures continue to show significant dynamism during 2024: as of September, shipments of goods and services reached a new annual high.

In addition, the number of exporting companies has accumulated growth of 3.9%, reaching the highest level for a similar period since records began.

According to the advance of the monthly trade report prepared by Subrei -with data from the Central Bank of Chile and the National Customs Service-, exports of goods reached US$ 74,154.3 million, an increase of 4.3% compared to the same period last year.

SHIPMENTS

Mining sets a new record at the end of the ninth month of the year, with its best historical record for a similar period, with shipments of US$ 42,716 million, an increase of 10.7% compared to 2023.

"The increase was contributed to by shipments of copper, gold and iron concentrate and cathodes, which offset the decline in lithium carbonate exports," Subrei noted.

Other shipments that stand out in the period are those of fresh fruit, with accumulated operations for US$ 6,037.5 million, a figure that reflects an increase of 13.8% compared to the same period in 2023, due to record exports of kiwis, plums and cherries, and increases in shipments of lemons, grapes, apples, pears, blueberries and avocados.

The wine sector generated foreign sales of US$1,198.9 million, up 6% compared to the same period in 2023, largely supported by the growth in the bottled wine category.

Foreign sales of machinery and equipment totaled US$956.3 million, experiencing a rise of 12.5% due to higher shipments of machinery for mining, agroindustry and industrial robots.

Finally, food exports totaled shipments of US$ 9,443.7 million, marking a 2% decrease compared to the same period in 2023, due to lower shipments of salmonids and fish oils, among others.

“Despite the above, the sector has seen significant increases in exports of meat, fresh vegetables, vegetable oils, dairy products and organic products, among others,” the report added.

In the case of service shipments, at the end of the ninth month of 2024 they climbed to US$ 2,014 million, showing an increase of 22% compared to the same period in 2023.

A total of 192 different types of services were exported in the period, with 120 of them recording increases in their sales abroad, compared to the January-September 2023 period.

The largest increases in shipments during the period were seen in cloud center services, aircraft maintenance and repair, logistics support, financial services for expert witnesses and original software design.

Other services with increasing returns are information processing; design and development of information technology applications; consulting in communication strategy and advertising; filming of movies using animation techniques; engineering applied to mining; engineering for copper mining facilities; research and development in agronomy; and technical drawing in engineering and architecture.

NUMBER OF EXPORTING COMPANIES

Throughout the first nine months of 2024, a total of 7,596 Chilean companies have registered exports, growing by 3.9% compared to the same period in 2023, while at the same time registering the highest number of companies with sales abroad for a similar period since records exist.

67% of the exporters (5,058) from the southern country directed their shipments to Latin America, being the largest number of companies with sales to the region for at least the last fifteen years.

Other important destinations were Europe (2,358), North America (2,286), Asia (1,910), the Middle East (312) and Africa (275).

By sector, a total of 4,390 companies exported manufactured goods, 1,646 shipped agricultural products and 1,060 companies provided services abroad. Other relevant sectors in terms of the number of exporters were wines (379), fishing and aquaculture (323), forestry (293) and mining (237).