MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

EU27/CELAC trade experienced sharp decline in 2009 with strong recovery since

Bilateral trade in goods between the two blocks in nine months of 2012 was above 175 billion Euros

The European Union27 international trade in goods with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, (CELAC), has been characterised in recent years by steady growth between 2003 and 2008, a sharp decline in 2009 and a strong recovery since then.

EU27 trade with CELAC was in balance in the first nine months of 2012. These data were released by Eurostat on the occasion of the 26 January EU-CELAC summit in Santiago de Chile. The first nine months of 2012 showed continued growth in EU27 trade with CELAC, with exports growing faster than imports. Exports rose by 16%, from €75bn in the first nine months of 2011 to €87bn in the same period of 2012, while imports increased by 2%, from €85bn to €87bn. In the first nine months of 2012, CELAC accounted for just under 7% of EU27 exports and imports.

Among the EU27 member states, Germany (€24.4bn or 28% of the total) was by far the largest exporter to CELAC in the first nine months of 2012, followed by Italy (€10.6bn or 12%), Spain (€10.4bn or 12%) and France (€9.7bn or 11%).

The Netherlands (€17bn or 20%) was the largest importer, followed by Spain (€15.5bn or 18%), Germany (€13.5bn or 16%), the UK (€9.9bn or 11%) and Italy (€7.7bn or 9%).

Among the members of the CELAC, Brazil (€29.6bn, or 34% of the total) was the leading destination for EU27 exports in the first nine months of 2012, followed by Mexico (€20.7bn or 24%), Argentina (€6.5bn or 8%) and Chile (€6.1bn or 7%). The leading sources of EU27 imports from CELAC were also Brazil (€28.5bn or 33%), Mexico (€14.3bn or 17%), Argentina (€7.7bn or 9%) and Chile (€7.4bn or 9%).

EU27 exports to CELAC rose from €66 billion in 2009 to €90bn in 2010 and €101bn in 2011. Imports increased from €75bn in 2009 to €96bn in 2010 and €113bn in 2011. Between 2003 and 2011, the EU27 has always recorded a trade deficit with CELAC, amounting to €12bn in 2011.

In 2011, the EU27 exported €37.7bn of services to CELAC, while imports amounted to €24.9bn, meaning that the EU27 had a surplus of €12.8bn. CELAC accounted for nearly 6% of the EU27's total trade in services in 2011.

CELAC has 33 members: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.