Exports peaked in a decade and trade surplus exceeded US $ 2.3 billion

The main contribution to this jump came from shipments of primary products, which increased by 69.2% annually. (+ u $ s 1,136 million) and accounted for 34.3% of total exports. Within this segment, the largest increases were recorded in grains for US $ 564 million, and oilseeds and fruits (including soybeans) for US $ 426 million.

The contribution of manufactured products, both of agricultural origin (MOA) and of industrial origin (MOI), also stood out, as they both contributed an additional US $ 1,619 million per year. compared to August sales of last year.

Among MOAs, there were increases in fats and oils and granules, while among MOIs, the main increases were seen in ground transportation materials, chemicals and base metals and their manufactures.

Meanwhile, although fuel and energy exports were the ones with the lowest total participation, they were the ones that grew the most in annual terms.

In parallel, August imports totaled approximately US $ 5,754 million, a level similar to that which had been recorded during the previous two months. However, with regards to August 2020, there was also a significant increase of 64%.

Just as energy sales increased the most compared to the same month last year, energy purchases also increased the most among all imports.

However, the acquisitions that most affected the annual increase were intermediate goods, which accounted for 40.5% of the total. Imports of these goods climbed 61.1% per year (u $ s884 million), driven by a significant increase in international prices. Purchases of parts and accessories for capital goods also increased by 88%.

Regarding trading partners, Brazil remained the most important. The trade balance with the neighboring country gave a favorable result for Argentina of 44 million US dollars.

The largest surpluses were recorded in trade with India (+ $ 306 million), Chile (+ $ 300 million) and Vietnam (+ $ 208 million). At the other extreme, the largest trade deficits were with the United States (-u $ 211 million), China (-u $ s175 million) and Paraguay (-u $ s115 million).

With these numbers, In the first eight months of 2021, the country accumulated a trade surplus of US $ 10,649 million, the second highest for this period behind the 2020 result.

The INDEC report showed that most of the year’s exports went to Brazil (14%). The podium was completed by China (8.7%) and the United States (6.2%). On the import side, the main suppliers were the same three but in a different order: China (20.3%), Brazil (20.1%) and the United States (9.6%).