Mexico was among the 10 economies with the most imports of intermediate products in the third quarter of 2021, reported this Friday the World Trade Organization (OMC).
Mexican imports of this type of product were 74,000 million dollars, a year-on-year increase of 38 percent.
Leading the ranking were: China, up 25% to $443 billion; The United States, with an increase of 30%, to 265,000 million, and Germany, with an advance of 23%, to 151,000 million.
Although at a slower pace than in the second quarter of 2021, exports of intermediate goods continued to increase in all regions in the third quarter, between 20 and 45% year-on-year, with a world average of 27 percent.
The high level of export growth observed for other industrial supplies (for example, raw and semi-finished materials, industrial components, agricultural commodities and semi-finished food products) was 38% year-on-year and confirmed the dynamic activity taking place in the supply chains. global supply.
Mexico did not appear in the list of the 15 largest exporters of this class of goods.
Among the 10 largest importers of intermediate goods, the remaining positions were held by Hong Kong ($123 billion), India ($81 billion), Japan ($80 billion), South Korea ($76 billion), the UK ($75 billion) and the Netherlands (74,000 million).
For the third consecutive quarter, India had the highest growth in imports of intermediate products of supply chains (65% year-on-year in the third quarter), mainly due to the upward momentum of non-monetary gold imports (161 percent).
By contrast, British imports of non-monetary gold fell 57%, an explanatory factor for the contraction observed for total imports of intermediate goods (-7 percent).
Imports from Japan showed the second highest increase among major importers (42 percent).
Meanwhile, a rebound that could be noted in a wide range of industrial inputs, reflecting the high level of industrial activity In the economy.
The OMC It also highlighted that the “Other Industrial Supplies” product category, which accounted for nearly half of total intermediate goods exports in the third quarter, grew the fastest among all categories, rising 38% year-on-year to $1.22 trillion.
It includes products such as vaccine products, medical spare parts and accessories, diagnostic or laboratory reagents and other intermediate medical products.
The category also includes raw or semi-manufactured metals such as copper cathodes, articles of iron or steel, and aluminum.
The category’s high growth rate follows a 52% rise in the second quarter.
However, world exports of spare parts and transport equipment accessories they grew more slowly, at 8% year-over-year in the third quarter, compared with 69% in the second quarter.
Export growth for minerals also slowed to 16% from an average growth of 47% during the first half of the year. This was partly due to the drop in iron ore prices in September 2021.
roberto.morales@eleconomista.
