MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile's foreign trade improving as September exports pick up

September shipments registered a 4% rise year on year to US$ 5.4 billion, on increased shipments of copper, iron, gold, bottled wine, silver and iodine

Chile's overseas trade reached almost US$ 93,5 billion, between January and September this year, an 11% drop year on year, the president Sebastián Piñera government announced on Thursday.

A drop in imports accounted for more than 85% of the decline in foreign trade, with imports falling 19% year on year to US$ 42.6 billion, said the Foreign Affairs Ministry's Undersecretary of International Economic Relations (Subrei).

Exports totaled US$50.8 billion in the first nine months of the year, a 3% drop compared to the same period of 2019.

However, in September, shipments registered a 4% rise year on year to total US$ 5.4 billion, on increased shipments of copper, iron, gold, bottled wine, silver and iodine, among other goods.

Subrei Undersecretary Rodrigo Yanez said, “The improved outlook reported by our trade partners was reflected in an increase in the demand for our exportable supply.”

In fact, five of Chile's seven main export industries -- minerals, manufacturing, agriculture, wines and services -- experienced an increase in sales abroad in September compared to the same month of 2019, he said.

September was the third month to register an increase in exports since the beginning of the pandemic, along with June and July.

The largest export growth was registered in shipments to China, Mercosur members, the Pacific Alliance, Bolivia, the European Free Trade Association and Central America, according to the statement.