Exporters still struggling

Latin American exporters remain stuck in rut. We estimate that the region’s export revenues grew by a mere 1% in 2012. A key factor in this poor performance has been that the prices of commodities – which account for over half of the region’s total exports – have flattened off in recent months. But on top of this, a perennial lack of competitiveness continues to constrain the performance of non-commodity exporters. On the basis of our expectation for continued weakness in global demand and commodity prices this year, export growth is likely to remain subdued for the foreseeable future.