Exports Fall 22% in 2009

Bolivian exports declined 22% in 2009 with respect to 2008 from 6.5 billion dollars in 2008 to 5 billion in 2009 according to a report by the The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Carribean. This
22% drop represents a decline in Bolivia’s exports worth 1.4 billion dollars. The report also found that imports dropped 13% in the same time period from 4.98 billion to 4.33 billion US dollars. This staggering decline was actually better than the average for Latin America and the Carribean which saw exports drop by 24% in 2009. The Bolivian economy, despite heavy losses actually fared no worse than its larger Southern Cone neighbors in 2009; where exports in Brazil, Chile and Argentina all dropped by the same 22%. Bolivia was badly affected by the drop in raw materials prices and by decreasing demand for natural gas in Brazil and Argentina. Latin American oil exporting countries fared the worst in 2009 where Venezuela’s exports dropped a whopping 42% and Ecuador’s fell 30%. Small Bolivian manufacturers and textile producers have been hit especially hard by the drop in global demand coupled with the 2008 loss of a free trade agreement with the US, called the APTDEA. Despite Bolivia’s mediocre 2009 performance in exports; the last quarter showed strong improvements over 2008 as prices of copper, zinc, oil, soy, and wheat rebounded worldwide.

http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/economia/20100110/cepal-exportaciones-bolivianas-bajan-22_53003_93620.html