Hit by Covid-19 lockdown, exports fell 11% in the first half of year

Exports fell 11 percent in the first half of 2020 from the previous year, decreasing both in quantity and price amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which has severely affected international trade, with Argentina proving no exception.

In the first six months of 2020, exports reached US$27.388 billion. In June alone, products sold abroad totalled US$4.786 billion, a drop of 8.6 percent compared to the same month of 2019, reported the INDEC national statistics bureau.

In the first six months of the year, the quantity of exports slumped 6.3 percent, while prices dropped five percent, the agency said. 

Among its main trading partners, exports grew only to China, reaching US$2.856 billion (20.6 percent more than in the first half of 2019); Vietnam, with US$1.552 billion (up 6.9 percent); and India, with US$1.171 billion (up 9.1 percent).

By way of contrast, exports to Brazil fell 31.7 percent on the previous year, reaching US$3.514 billion, and by 22.6 percent to the United States, totalling US$1.558 bilion.

The best performing sectors were oilseeds, cereals, and dairy and meat products.

Imports in the first half of the year reached US$19.291 billion, a fall of 23.3 percent compared to the same period in 2019.

Commercial exchange over the same period decreased 16.6 percent to reach US$46.679 billion. Argentina's trade balance registered a surplus of US$8.097 billion.

– TIMES/AFP