Mexico City — In November, Mexico achieved a trade surplus of $630 million, a significant improvement from the $123 million deficit recorded in the same period last year. This positive outcome was attributed to the higher growth rate of exports compared to imports.
According to the National Statistics Institute, exports in November 2022 reached a total of $50.25 billion, representing a 2.0% increase. On the other hand, imports experienced a more modest growth of 0.4%, reaching $49.62 billion.
The decline in crude oil prices and volume led to a 0.2% decrease in petroleum exports, which amounted to $2.45 billion. As for petroleum imports, including gasoline, diesel, and natural gas, they fell by a significant 25.4% to $3.42 billion.
The manufacturing sector performed well during this period, with exports of manufactured goods increasing by 2.6% to $45.41 billion compared to the previous year. This growth was largely driven by a 7.7% increase in shipments of vehicles and auto parts. However, agricultural exports only rose by 0.8%, while mining exports experienced a notable decline of 22.3%.
Intermediate goods imports, excluding petroleum, saw a decrease of 2.9% amounting to $34.35 billion. Conversely, imports of machinery and equipment rose by 15.9% to $5.07 billion.
Excluding petroleum, consumer goods imports witnessed significant growth, rising by 33.2% to reach $6.78 billion. This surge can be attributed to Mexicans taking advantage of the stronger peso against the U.S. dollar.
For the period from January to November, Mexico’s overall trade deficit amounted to $9.71 billion. This figure reflects a partial offset of an $18.38 billion deficit in petroleum trade by an $8.67 billion surplus in non-petroleum goods exchange. In the same January-November period of 2022, the deficit stood at $27.86 billion.