SPECIAL
SECTION CHINA
We hear it a lot: China is now Brazil’s top trade partner; it’s on pace to surpass the EU as Latin
America and the Caribbean’s second biggest trade partner; trade flows are in China’s favor as a
consumer of primary products and exporter of finished products. Some are sounding alarm bells;
others insist this is simply globalization. Here are some of the raw numbers.
Products
The terms of trade differ. Raw materials account for nearly 60 percent of LAC exports to China, followed by natural-resource-based
manufactures, processed mineral products and agro-industrial products. Nonetheless, these percentages vary by country.
For instance, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Mexico export substantial percentages of high-tech manufactures to China.
LAC TOP THREE EXPORTS TO CHINA BY PRODUCT T YPE, 2007–2009 (IN PERCEN TAGES)
crude
petroleum
8%
soy
oil
27%
soybeans
53%
ARGENTINA
crude
petroleum
13%
tin
concentrate
22%
tin and
tin alloys
24%
BOLIVIA
crude
petroleum
6%
iron
concentrate
45% soybeans
24%
BRAZIL
monohydric
alcohols 18%
non-
coniferous
wood 13%
alumina
17%
CARICOM
chemical
wood pulp
7%
copper
concentrate
24%
copper
55%
CHILE
nonferrous base
metal waste/
scrap 4%
semiconductor
devices 1%
piezoelectric
crystals 1%
other common
metals 7%
nonferrous
waste/scrap 2%
nonconiferous
wood 1%
crude
petroleum
54%
other
ferro-alloys
37%
other
ferro-alloys
51%
nonferrous
waste/scrap
11%
electric micro-
assemblies
96%
nickel mattes
72%
sugar
19%
copper
concentrate
16%
crude petroleum
95%
COLOMBIA
COS TA RICA
CUBA
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
ECUADOR
T-shirts 4%
electrical
capacitors
54%
nonferrous
waste/scrap
36%
EL SALVADOR
waste, pairings
and scrap plastics
10%
zinc
concentrate
14%
sugar
60%
GUATEMALA
ships/boats
45%
bovine/
equine hides/
skins 17%
flours, not for
human
consumption 13%
PANAMA
AMERICASQUARTERLY.ORG
waste, pairings
and scrap
plastics
10%
bovine
hides
32%
nonconiferous
wood 29%
PARAGUAY
nonferrous
waste/scrap
20%
zinc
concentrate
36%
electric
micro-
assemblies
14%
copper
concentrate
10%
nonferrous
waste/scrap
lead
concentrate
27%
HONDURAS
telecom equipment
parts 5%
MEXICO
NICARAGUA
iron concentrate
14%
sponge iron products
5%
lead
concentrate
10%
copper
concentrate
39%
carded
wool 8%
flours, not for
human consumption
16%
soybeans
45%
chemical
wood
pulp 23%
crude petroleum
78%
PERU
URUGUAY
VENEZUELA
Americas Quarterly WINTER 2012
71
