Report: Latam exports to China rising fastest

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China looks set to become the top export growth market for Latin America and the Caribbean this year.

A new report by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said the region's exports to the world's second largest economy will grow by 23 percent in 2017, well above the overall figure of 10 percent.

"I think there have been many important steps between China and Latin America and the Caribbean," ECLAC's executive secretary, Alicia Barcena, told a news conference in Santiago at which the annual report on the region's trade was unveiled.

"Now, the most important (objective) is to diversify the basket of exports so Chinese companies can invest in our region."

According to Barcena, future increases in trade can be achieved by adding value to agricultural goods, which are in high demand.

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"Foodstuffs are very important to China and what better than to produce them here, where agriculture must be a sector large enough to continuously be worked on," she said.

Barcena also referred to technology, a sector which is booming in China, and called on countries to seek mutual benefits.

"China has made great advances in this direction recently," she said. "Our task must be to seek cooperation plans in this area. We must take advantage of 'The Belt & Road Initiative,' which must first connect Asia to Europe and then expand to us. We must continue with positive plans, such as the (undersea) cable that will unite China and Chile."

ECLAC predicted that exports from Latin America and the Caribbean would bounce back by 10 percent as a whole in 2017 after five years of slowdown.

Apart from China, the other major growing markets are the rest of Asia at 17 percent and the US 9 per cent. However, the region's trade with Europe is not performing as well, only rising by 6 percent.

Another positive mark is that imports also stopped a four-year fall and are set to rise by 7 percent in 2017, a good sign at a time of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, said the report.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency