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TOP 10
List of Paraguay’s Top 10 Exports

Paraguay shipped US$8.5 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2016, up by 168.2% since 2009 slowing to a 1.6% gain from 2015 to 2016.

Paraguay’s top 10 exports accounted for 91.2% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Based on statistics from the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook Database, Paraguay’s total Gross Domestic Product amounted to $64.1 billion in 2016. Therefore, exports accounted for about 13.2% of total Paraguayan economic output.

From a continental perspective, 55.3% of Paraguayan by value are delivered to Latin American countries (excluding Mexico) and the Caribbean, while 21.9% are sold to European importers. Paraguay ships another 14.9% to Asia with 3% going to North America.

Given Paraguay’s population of 6.9 million people, its total $8.5 billion in 2016 exports translates to roughly $1,238 for every resident in that country.

Paraguay’s unemployment rate was an estimated 6.9% as of September 2016 according to Trading Economics.

TOP 10

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Paraguayan global shipments during 2016. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Paraguay.

  1. Mineral fuels including oil: US$2.2 billion (25.6% of total exports)
  2. Oil seeds: $1.9 billion (22.3%)
  3. Meat: $1.2 billion (13.6%)
  4. Food industry waste, animal fodder: $887.5 million (10.4%)
  5. Cereals: $683.8 million (8.1%)
  6. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $502.9 million (5.9%)
  7. Electrical machinery, equipment: $159.2 million (1.9%)
  8. Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $120 million (1.4%)
  9. Plastics, plastic articles: $86.1 million (1%)
  10. Sugar, sugar confectionery: $78.9 million (0.9%)

Mineral fuels including oil was the fastest-growing among the top 10 export categories, up from just $267,000 in 2009 to $2.2 billion during 2016.

In second place for improving export sales were electrical machinery and equipment up by 1,564% over the same 7-year period.

Exported Paraguayan raw hides, skins and leather posted the third-fastest gain in value at 179.3%.

Advantages

The following types of Paraguayan product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports is the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

  1. Oil seeds: US$1.9 billion (Up by 114.3% since 2009)
  2. Meat: $1.2 billion (Up by 99%)
  3. Mineral fuels including oil: $1 billion (Down by -199.2%)
  4. Food industry waste, animal fodder: $827.9 million (Up by 131.2%)
  5. Cereals: $632.5 million (Up by 46.6%)
  6. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $479.1 million (Up by 92.6%)
  7. Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $113.7 million (Up by 170.7%)
  8. Gems, precious metals: $58.5 million (Down by -797.9%)
  9. Miscellaneous animal-origin products: $55.4 million (Up by 302.2%)
  10. Sugar, sugar confectionery: $53.7 million (Up by 287.7%)

Paraguay has highly positive net exports in the international trade of oil seeds which is used for making edible oils and producing biodiesel. It also serves as high protein animal feed. Positive cashflows indicate Paraguay’s strong competitive advantages under the oil seed product category.

Opportunities

Below are exports from Paraguay that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Paraguay’s goods trail Paraguayan importer spending on foreign products.

  1. Electrical machinery, equipment: -US$1.4 billion (Up by 21.1% since 2009)
  2. Machinery including computers: -$1.1 billion (Up by 4.7%)
  3. Vehicles : -$925.5 million (Up by 60%)
  4. Fertilizers: -$392.4 million (Up by 50.8%)
  5. Other chemical goods: -$311.7 million (Up by 75.3%)
  6. Plastics, plastic articles: -$299.5 million (Up by 107.5%)
  7. Rubber, rubber articles: -$220.6 million (Up by 65.9%)
  8. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: -$206.7 million (Up by 111.3%)
  9. Toys, games: -$194.7 million (Down by -46.5%)
  10. Pharmaceuticals: -$190.7 million (Up by 147.4%)

Paraguay has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for electronics.

These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Paraguay’s competitive disadvantages in the international electronics market, but also represent key opportunities for Paraguay to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations.

Companies

Paraguayan Export Companies

According to Wikipedia, the following companies are examples of leading Paraguayan companies:

  • Banco Amambay (bank)
  • Funcionale (electronics company)
  • Itaú Unibanco (bank)
  • Petróleos Paraguayos (oil and gas company)
  • TAM Airlines (airliner)