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Inegi reports an increase in Mexican merchandise exports

Mexico City, Mexico — The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) reports Mexican merchandise exports registered a growth of 18.5 percent year-on-year in 2021.

On the other hand, the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (Inegi) reported imports from Mexico saw an annual rate increase of 32.1 percent. Consequently, the country obtained a deficit of $11,491.1 million in its product trade balance. Mexico also achieved a total trade (imports plus exports) of nearly $1 billion for the first time.

Previously, exports showed a strong downward trend, increasing 10 percent in 2018, slowing to 2 percent in 2019 and plummeting to -9 percent in 2020, impacted by the covid-19 pandemic.

However, Mexican exports benefited last year from the fiscal stimuli granted in the United States, its main destination, from the recent T-MEC Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada and from the trade war between United States and China.

On the contrary, its main stumbling block was the global shortage of semiconductor chips, which especially delayed automotive production whose foreign sales were the only major subdivision with a year-on-year drop in December of -4.6 percent to $12,592.5 million.

All-in-all, automotive exports grew 13.8 percent in 2021, to $139,841.6 million.

Recently, Mexico’s economic activity has shown an upward trend in agriculture, industry and services. The latter sector has some heterogeneity, with recovery lagging in sectors such as leisure and hospitality, while activity in some other sectors are above pre-pandemic levels.

In December 2021, and with seasonal adjustments, total merchandise exports reported a monthly decline of 0.10 percent, which was derived from the combination of a contraction of 8.05 percent in oil exports and a growth of 0.43 percent in non-oil exports.

Going forward, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) forecasts that the Mexican economy will expand 3.3 percent in 2022 and 2.5 percent in 2023, after growing 5.9 percent in 2021. Its projection includes Mexican exports will continue to benefit from the strong recovery of the United States.