Chile’s Foreign Trade Up 30%

Chile’s foreign trade reached $42.4 billion in the first half of the year, a rise of 31% compared with the same period in 2005. Exports increased by 39%, while imports rose by only 19%. Chile’s trade surplus was $9.2 billion for the first six months of the year. Trade with Europe and Asia grew by 36% and 26%, respectively; with the rest of the Americas it expanded by 29%. The country’s largest trade partners are Italy (58%), the Netherlands (51%), South Korea (43%) and the United States (33%).