In January, Argentina's trade balance recorded a surplus of 142 million dollars, thus maintaining a positive balance for the fourteenth consecutive month, according to data from the Argentine Trade Exchange (ICA) of the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec).
This surplus was due to exports totaling 5.890 billion dollars, showing a year-on-year increase of 9.1%. This increase was mainly driven by a 12.5% rise in exported quantities, despite a 2.9% drop in prices. On the other hand, imports totaled 5.748 billion dollars in January, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 24.6%, with a 37% rise in imported quantities and a 9% decrease in prices.
The Indec agency noted that, compared to January 2024, the trade balance decreased by 643 million dollars, mainly due to the rise in imported quantities exceeding exports. Despite a 6.7% increase in the terms of trade index, total trade increased by 16.3% compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching 11.638 billion dollars.
Regarding exports, all categories recorded increases except for primary products, which fell by 5.4%. Among the categories that grew the most were fuels and energy, which reached a total of 879 million dollars, with a 23.7% increase. Exports of industrial origin manufactures amounted to 1.418 billion dollars, with a positive variation of 16.4%, and agricultural origin exports reached 2.069 billion dollars, showing an 11.4% increase.
As for imports by categories, all experienced increases except for fuels and lubricants, which decreased by 32.5%. The economic usage that rose the most was the so-called "other" category, with a 122.6% increase, mainly due to the acquisition of goods dispatched through postal services.
