Brasília – Exports from Latin America and the Caribbean should be up 1.5%, this year, a rate similar to 2012’s 1.4%. The forecast was issued by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac), which released its 2013 International Insertion Panorama this Tuesday (10th).
According to the Eclac, the export volume should be up 3%, and prices should be down 1.5%. The import value is expected to be up 4.5%. Thus, the region’s trade surplus, which stood at US$ 41 billion in 2012, will drop to US$ 8 billion this year.
Regarding Brazil, the Eclac projects a 0.1% decline in exports in 2013, while imports should be up 4.6%.
According to the Eclac, foreign trade performance in the region reflects the frailty of the global economic scenario. According to the commission, global trade volume should be up 2.5% this year. In case the forecast proves true, the growth will be lower than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the second straight year.
In the report, the commission notes that global trade flows should change due to negotiations for so-called “mega-regional” trade agreements. According to the Eclac, the idea for these negotiations is to create integrated, far-reaching economic spaces, be they Asiatic, Transatlantic, or Transpacific.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
