ECLAC projects 20% rise in the region's goods exports for 2026
Cubierto por 3 fuentesPublicado
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The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) released its annual International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2026 report, projecting that the value of the region's goods exports will grow by 20% this year, the sharpest rise since the post-pandemic rebound of 2021. The agency attributes this result to an 11% increase in export prices and a 9% rise in shipped volumes, which would expand for the sixth consecutive year.
Uneven performance across countries
The report anticipates that 28 of the region's 33 countries will post increases in the value of their goods exports, with 16 of them reaching double-digit growth. Peru would lead regional growth with a projected rise of 30%, followed by Mexico with 26% and Bolivia with 23%. Argentina, along with the Bahamas and Paraguay, would grow 19%, with goods exports of around 103.39 billion dollars, while Ecuador is expected to see a 16% increase.
Imports and services trade
ECLAC also projects that the region's goods imports will grow 16% in value, driven by a 12% expansion in volume and a 4% rise in prices, amid a recovery in domestic consumption and higher demand for intermediate inputs and capital goods. At the same time, services exports would rise 11%, boosted by the recovery in transport and travel, while services imports would grow 9%.
The potential of modern services
The report devotes a chapter to modern services -business, professional, financial, technology, and research and development services-, whose regional exports have grown more than 3.5-fold over the past two decades, compared with a 1.6-fold increase in traditional services. Despite this progress, the region accounts for just 2% of global modern services exports, and ECLAC highlights the cases of Costa Rica and Uruguay as examples of sustained strategies to tap into this segment.
Geopolitical risks and recommendations
ECLAC's Executive Secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, warned that the region faces an uncertain geopolitical environment, marked by trade tensions, disruptions to logistics routes and a lack of predictability in trade policies, compounded by competition for critical minerals and new environmental requirements. Against this backdrop, the agency recommended strengthening export diversification, attracting foreign investment and improving coordination between the public and private sectors to seize trade opportunities.
