Manufacturing exports plunge 21% in first quarter

SANTIAGO.- According to the Association of Manufacturing Exporters and Services (Asexma), manufacturing exports registered a decrease of 21% for the January-March period of 2009, with total shipments of US$ 1.508 billion dollars.

The figure is lower than the number of exports reported during the same period last year, which totalled US$ 1.908 billion dollars.

Meanwhile, manufacturing shipments abroad during March alone of this year totalled US$ 553.2 million dollars, registering a 26.8% increase when compared to February when exports totalled US$ 436.4 million dollars.

According to the president of the organization, Eduardo Moyano, the decrease observed in manufacturer shipments over the first three months of this year was affected by lower global demand for products with added value.

An analysis by industry reveals that the most significant declines were amongst chemical products (75.4%), metal manufacturers (30.3%), food products (13.8%) and textiles (62.6%).

With regards to the destination markets, the majority of countries reported decreases with notable examples being: Venezuela with 36.1%, Mexico with 26.8%, Brazil with 16.8% and Colombia with 13.6%.