Latin American trade flows may have recovered after a succession of crises in the US and in Europe, but growth looks set to remain modest. Imports are growing faster than exports, as links with Asia are being strengthened. Latin American foreign sales are expected to increase by a mere 1.5% this year (roughly in line with the 1.4% expansion registered in 2012 compared with the previous year), according to the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Meanwhile regional imports are more vigorous, expected to expand by 4.5% in 2013.
Several Latin American banks have rushed to set up regional trade finance desks in China, as trade winds continue to blow eastwards. Indeed, last year, Chinese sales to Latin America grew by 11% to reach $131bn, compared with a 5% increase in Latin American exports to China, which totalled $125bn. Asia accounted for a mere 13% share of Latin America trade with the rest of the world in 2005. That figures is now 25%, according to Citibank. This is roughly level with North America’s current share, which has dropped from 35% to 24% between 2005 and 2012.
