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Foreign Trade in Figures

Chile has a very open economy, highly dependent on international trade, which represented 64.4% of the country's GDP in 2021 (World Bank). The country mainly exports copper (which accounts for 56.4% of exports), fish fillets and other fish meat (3.3%), iron ores (2.6%), chemical wood pulp (2.5%), and apricots, cherries, and peaches (2.3%). Imports involve petroleum oils (10.3%), motor cars and other vehicles (8.3%), telephone sets (3.7%), petroleum gas (2.9%), and automatic data processing machines (2.4%). According to IMF Foreign Trade Forecasts, the volume of exports of goods and services decreased by 0.4% in 2022 and is expected to increase by 1.3% in 2023 and 3.5% in 2024, while the volume of imports of goods and services decreased by 2.9% in 2022, a rate that's expected to drop to -7.5% in 2023 before increasing to -1.4% in 2024.

Chile's top trade partners are China, the United States, Brazil, Japan, Argentina, South Korea, and Germany. Chile has signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with several important economies, notably the European Union, the United States, China, and South Korea and is a member of the Pacific Alliance since 2012 with Mexico, Colombia and Peru. Its comparative economic advantages (revenue from mining, competitive and counter-seasonal agriculture sector) have given it access to the large markets of North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific (and recently to other South American countries, especially Brazil). Chile also signed a trade continuity agreement with the UK, ensuring continued trade relations. Challenges to Chilean trade include replacing the failed Union of South American Nations with ProSur to strengthen economic integration and trade relationships in the region (Buenos Aires Times). Additionally, with the world’s largest known copper reserves, Chile is a commodity-based, export-driven economy, which heightened Chile's exposure to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, since its economic performance is interlaced with patterns of global demand.

Chile's trade balance remains structurally positive, and attained USD 10,528 million in 2021, a decrease from the previous year, mainly due to a drop in copper output, the country's main export. Imports of goods and services increased 31.3% in 2021, while exports decreased by 1.5% (World Bank). According to WTO data, in 2021, Chile exported USD 94,6 million worth of goods, while its imports stood at USD 91,1 million. As with regards to imports and exports of services in the same year, those amounted to USD 15,7 million and USD 6,6 million respectively.

 
Foreign Trade Values 20182019202020212022
Imports of Goods (million USD) 74,61269,85559,20792,397104,529
Exports of Goods (million USD) 74,83968,79474,02394,77598,549
Imports of Services (million USD) 16,56716,54713,00817,93722,889
Exports of Services (million USD) 9,2268,4625,6485,9588,509

Source: World Trade Organisation (WTO) ; Latest available data

Foreign Trade Indicators 20182019202020212022
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) 58.257.558.164.775.0
Trade Balance (million USD) 4,4093,01618,91710,4703,807
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) -2,933-5,06911,444-1,848-11,017
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) 8.6-1.7-12.331.80.9
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) 4.9-2.5-0.9-1.41.4
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 29.629.726.832.739.3
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 28.527.831.332.035.7

Source: World Bank ; Latest available data

Foreign Trade Forecasts 2023 (e)2024 (e)2025 (e)2026 (e)2027 (e)
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) 1.27.44.31.90.8
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) -5.95.43.64.02.2

Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data

Note: (e) Estimated Data

 
International Economic Cooperation
Chile is a member of the following international economic organisations: Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), IMF, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), G-15, G-77, ICC, Latin American and the Caribbean Economic System, OECD, Mercosur (associate), among others. For the full list of economic and other international organisations in which participates Chile click here. International organisation membership of Chile is also outlined here.
Free Trade Agreements
The complete and up-to-date list of Free Trade Agreements signed by Chile can be consulted here.
 

Main Partner Countries

Main Customers
(% of Exports)
2022
China 39.4%
United States 13.9%
Japan 7.6%
South Korea 6.2%
Brazil 4.6%
See More Countries 28.2%
Main Suppliers
(% of Imports)
2022
China 25.3%
United States 20.9%
Brazil 9.7%
Argentina 5.8%
Germany 2.7%
See More Countries 35.6%

Source: Comtrade, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

 
 

Main Products

97.5 bn USD of products exported in 2022
Copper ores and concentratesCopper ores and concentrates 23.3%
Copper, refined, and copper alloys, unwrought ...Copper, refined, and copper alloys, unwrought (excl. copper alloys of heading 7405) 18.7%
Carbonates; peroxocarbonates "percarbonates";...Carbonates; peroxocarbonates "percarbonates"; commercial ammonium carbonate containing ammonium carbamate 8.0%
Fish fillets and other fish meat, whether or not...Fish fillets and other fish meat, whether or not minced, fresh, chilled or frozen 4.0%
Copper, unrefined; copper anodes for electrolytic...Copper, unrefined; copper anodes for electrolytic refining 3.0%
See More Products 43.0%
104.4 bn USD of products imported in 2022
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; waste oils containing mainly petroleum or bituminous minerals 11.9%
Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally...Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702) 5.0%
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude 4.7%
Motor vehicles for the transport of goods, incl....Motor vehicles for the transport of goods, incl. chassis with engine and cab 3.5%
Petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbonsPetroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons 3.3%
See More Products 71.6%

Source: Comtrade, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

 
 

To go further, check out our service Import Export Flows.

 

Main Services

Source: United Nations Statistics Division, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

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Actualitzacions: November 2023

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