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Bolivia is open to foreign trade, on which the country's economy strongly depends. According to the latest available data, Bolivia's trade to GDP ratio reached 56% in 2019. However, corruption and other structural problems, such as its landlocked isolation, harm its trade. Bolivia has been a member of the WTO for over two decades, and the country is the 8th largest exporter in South America and the 9th largest importer. The country mainly exports petroleum gas (28.7%), gold (17.5%), zinc ores and concentrates (11.7%), oil-cake (7%), and precious metal ores and concentrates (6.9%), while its main imports include petroleum oils (12.8%), motor vehicles (3.8%), insecticides (3.1%), medicaments (2.4%), and bars and rods made of iron or non-alloy steel (2.1%). According to IMF Foreign Trade Forecasts, the volume of exports of goods and services increased by an estimated 5.5% in 2021 and is expected to increase by 2.2% in 2022, while the volume of imports of goods and services increased by an estimated 18.1% in 2021 and is expected to increase by 7% in 2022.
Bolivia's main trade partners are Brazil, Argentina, China, Peru, India, the United States, and Japan. Trade with neighbouring countries is growing, partly thanks to several regional preferential trade agreements. Bolivia is a member of the Andean Community, along with Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, and an associate member of Mercosur (Southern America Common Market) - a status which the country is trying to change in order become a full time member. However, some of the country's views might make it difficult for them to become a member of the trade bloc, particularly its allegiance to some non-democratic governments and its rhetoric against imperialism, which quite often leave the country isolated and in a difficult spot diplomatically. Additionally, it should be noted that even though Bolivia is an attractive recipient of foreign investment, its international contracts often lack transparency.
Bolivia used to have a traditionally positive trade balance, fuelled by structural needs for gas of the Brazilian and Argentinean markets and, even though the country incurred a trade deficit between 2014 and 2019, Bolivia recorded a positive trade balance in 2020 for the first time in over half a decade (USD 450 million). Over that period, exports of goods reached USD 7,01 billion, while total imports of goods were worth USD 7,08 billion. Concerning the trade of services, the imports amounted to USD 1,7 billion, while the exports amounted to USD 603 million.
Foreign Trade Indicators | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Imports of Goods (million USD) | 8,374 | 9,288 | 9,996 | 9,784 | 7,080 |
Exports of Goods (million USD) | 6,969 | 7,846 | 8,965 | 8,757 | 7,015 |
Imports of Services (million USD) | 2,784 | 3,077 | 3,049 | 2,858 | 1,743 |
Exports of Services (million USD) | 1,204 | 1,418 | 1,435 | 1,418 | 603 |
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | -4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | n/a |
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | -6 | -5 | 5 | -2 | n/a |
Trade Balance (million USD) | -901 | -547 | -460 | -236 | 450 |
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) | 56 | 57 | 57 | 56 | n/a |
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 32 | 32 | 31 | 31 | n/a |
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 24 | 25 | 26 | 25 | n/a |
Source: WTO – World Trade Organisation ; World Bank - Latest available data.
Main Customers (% of Exports) |
2020 |
---|---|
Brazil | 15.9% |
Argentina | 14.6% |
India | 10.2% |
Japan | 7.5% |
Peru | 6.6% |
Colombia | 5.3% |
China | 5.1% |
United States | 4.5% |
United Arab Emirates | 4.0% |
Netherlands | 3.0% |
South Korea | 2.8% |
Ecuador | 2.5% |
Chile | 2.2% |
Canada | 2.1% |
Australia | 1.9% |
Belgium | 1.8% |
Italy | 1.6% |
Hong Kong SAR, China | 1.5% |
Turkey | 1.5% |
Spain | 1.1% |
See More Countries | 45.2% |
Main Suppliers (% of Imports) |
2020 |
---|---|
China | 22.3% |
Brazil | 16.9% |
Argentina | 10.1% |
United States | 8.0% |
Peru | 7.9% |
Chile | 4.4% |
Japan | 2.6% |
India | 2.6% |
Mexico | 2.5% |
Germany | 2.2% |
Spain | 2.1% |
Colombia | 2.1% |
Russia | 1.6% |
France | 0.9% |
Italy | 0.9% |
Sweden | 0.9% |
Uruguay | 0.9% |
Singapore | 0.8% |
Thailand | 0.7% |
Paraguay | 0.7% |
See More Countries | 34.9% |
Source: Comtrade, Latest Available Data
Source: Comtrade, Latest Available Data
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Member of Asociación latinoamericana de integración
Member of MERCOSUR (Associate member)
Member of Organization of American States - OAS
Member of Asociación latinoamericana de integración
Member of MERCOSUR (Associate member)
Member of Organization of American States - OAS
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