MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chilean record exports

Chilean exports totalled 3.649 billion US dollars in January, up 22% from the same month in 2005, according to the monthly bulletin from Chile's Central Bank.

Chilean imports saw an even greater increase of 31.4%percent in January, compared with January 2005, totaling 2.89 billion US dollars. January's trade surplus was 758 million US dollars, 1.3% less than the 768 million registered in January 2005.

Chile's high export earnings are attributed to the continued high price of copper, Chile's principal export. Copper represented 36% of all exports in January, reaching a total of 1.3 billion US dollars.

Copper and molybdenum prices continue to break record prices in the London Metals Market with copper above 2.25 US dollars the pound. The Chilean Central Bank predicts a median price for 2006 of 1.70 per pound.

According to Chilean experts world copper production reached 17.3 million tons in 2005 but this year is forecasted in 18.8 million tons, an 8.4% increase.

January industrial exports totaled 856 million, while the agricultural, fishing and forestry sectors, exported 156 million US dollars.

The Chilean Central Bank predicts that this year's trade surplus will be more moderate than last year's, which reached 9.2 billion. The bank forecasts a 2006 surplus of 7.3 billion, with exports of 41.3 billion and imports 34 billion US dollars.