LatAm Exports Seen Growing 29%

The IDB forecasts that LatAm’s exports will have increased by 29.0% in 2010 to around $853.0bn. A year earlier they had dropped 23.0%. Intra-regional exports grew 27.0%, while extra-regional flows expanded nearly 30.0%. Intra-regional trade as a share of LatAm’s total trade with the world stands at an estimated 17.5%, slightly lower than last year’s 17.8%. Paraguay led the Mercosur regional grouping with 39.7% growth in exports, while Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina saw their exports grow by 29.7%, 24.6%, and 24.0%, respectively. Exports by Peru grew 35.2%, Ecuador 28.8%, Bolivia 27.5%, and Colombia 21.2%, while Chile’s exports rose 38.5%. Mexico’s exports are projected to grow by a third this year. In CentAm, Nicaragua’s exports increased 30%, while Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Costa Rica grew at respective rates of 16.0%, 15.9%, 13.8%, and 9.1%.