An Inegi report notes that the negative result came on the back of a 4.9% increase in total imports to US$399.97bn and a 4.6% increase in total exports to US$397.55bn. It was mostly attributed to a sharp fall in the country’s oil and its derivatives trade surplus, which decreased from US$8.62bn in 2013 to US$1.49bn last year on the back of lower value exports. According to Inegi’s figures, Mexico’s 2014 oil sales totalled US$42.97bn, 13.2% less than in 2013. Of this US$2.46bn were exports, a 43.7% drop.
The lower value of the oil exports thus offset the narrowing of the deficit in the trade of non-oil products, which fell from US$9.8bn in 2013 to US$3.93bn in 2014. Indeed Inegi figures show that Mexican exports of non-oil products increased by 7.3% to US$354.55bn last year. But this increase was clearly not enough to overcome the fall in oil sector exports.
The 2014 trade balance results make for worrying reading for the federal government led by President Enrique Peña Nieto, which is banking on its flagship energy sector reform, which opened up oil production for private firms, to help boost Mexico’s domestic economy. With international oil prices still falling, the value of Mexico’s prospective oil exports will be lower than originally hoped.
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