Argentina’s September Trade Shows 16.1% Decrease in Exports, Resulting in a $793 Million Deficit

Argentina’s trade exchange in September reached $12.295 billion, marking a 16.1% decline compared to the same month last year, resulting in a deficit of $793 million, as reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC). During the same period, the country’s Southern Cone exports reached $5.751 billion, a 23.5% decrease year-on-year, while imports of $6.544 billion saw an 8.3% reduction, according to the Argentine Commercial Exchange report from INDEC.

According to the statistics agency, this marks the eighth negative record of the year.

Exports fell by $1.767 billion compared to September 2022 due to a 12.8% reduction in volume and a 12.5% decline in prices, mainly driven by lower sales of soybeans, soybean oil, soybean meal, beef, corn, and crude oil. Meanwhile, imports decreased by $593 million year-on-year, primarily due to an 11.0% price drop despite a 2.7% increase in quantities.

All sectors experienced declines in exports: fuels and energy shrank by 33.8%, primary products (PP) by 31.0%, agricultural manufacturing (MOA) by 28.7%, and industrial manufacturing (MOI) by 5.3%.

On the other hand, international purchases decreased in the cases of fuels and lubricants by 42.6%, primary goods by 21.1%, intermediate goods by 12.4%, consumer goods by 8.4%, and capital goods by 2.5%. However, the automotive sector (passenger and freight vehicles) grew by 95.3%, and parts and accessories for capital goods increased by 3.0%. There were also increases in soybean imports.

Regarding the main soy and soy byproduct items, there was a surplus of $621 million, which is $1.188 million less than the same period in 2022. However, the automotive sector (passenger and freight vehicles) had a deficit of $356 million, higher than the $258 million deficit recorded in September 2022.

According to INDEC, the net negative effect of quantities was the primary factor contributing to the negative trade balance variation in September 2022 and for the January to September 2023 period.

Trade within the Mercosur region recorded a deficit of $339 million, attributed to exports of $1.469 billion, down 0.7% compared to the same month the previous year, and imports of $1.808 billion, down 0.3%.

Meanwhile, trade with the European Union reported a deficit of $409 million, with exports valued at $619 million, a 23.9% year-on-year drop, and imports of $1.028 billion, a 1.8% reduction. In the case of North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico), the deficit reached $241 million, with exports of $611 million, down 37.8%, and imports of $852 million, up 9.7%. Finally, trade with China showed a deficit of $944 million, with exports of $477 million, down 54.7%, and imports of $1.421 billion, down 12.2%.

Source: Télam

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