Covid-19 caused a 6.8% contraction of regional GDP in 2020.
The value of exports of goods from Latin America and the Caribbean will experience a 25% increase in 2021, after falling 10% in 2020, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) reported on Tuesday.
In the annual report in which it analyzes the prospects for international trade in the region, the organization explained that the increase is driven by the 17% increase in export prices and an 8% expansion of the exported volume.
Meanwhile, the value of goods imports would increase 32%, with a 20% expansion in volume and 12% in prices.
South America would record the highest increase in exported value in 2021 (34%) given that, given its export specialization, it would especially benefit from higher raw material prices.
The Caribbean subregion will benefit from the high prices of oil, gas and bauxite exported by Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, respectively.
The value of Mexican exports, which mainly consist of manufactured goods, would grow 17%, mainly driven by the expansion of their volume. A similar situation can be seen in the case of Central America.
For its part, the value of imports would grow more than 25% in all subregions and Mexico.
Among the main trading partners of the region, the greatest dynamism in 2021 is projected in flows with Asia, with an increase of 35% in the value of exports to China, and within the region itself.
The region as a whole is expected to register a surplus of 24,000 million dollars in its trade in goods in 2021, a figure less than that registered in 2020 (64,000 million dollars), which ECLAC explains by the considerable recovery of imported volume.
Regarding services, the value of regional exports of services had a year-on-year contraction of 9.9% in the first half of 2021 and its performance in the coming months will be determined by the evolution of the reopening of tourism.
Covid-19 caused a 6.8% contraction in regional GDP in 2020 – the largest in 120 years – and raised the levels of poverty and extreme poverty to 33.7% and 12.5%, respectively. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
