"From January to August 2021, national exports reached 6.99 billion dollars, a figure 2.75 billion dollars higher than that recorded in the similar period of 2020, when a total of 4.21 billion dollars was reached, representing an increase of 65.4%," the INE said in its report.
As a result of these sales and imports that totaled 5.67 million dollars, the Bolivian trade surplus accumulated in the first eight months amounted to 1.36 billion dollars, in contrast to the zero-balance surplus and deficit of a year earlier.
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Gold production, increasing rapidly, along with natural gas, accounted for 45% of the country's exports in the January-August 2021 period.
Exports of metallic gold and metallic gold jewelry totaled $1.64 billion, or 24% of the total, up sharply from $778 million a year earlier.
INE said that Bolivian metallic gold is exported mainly to India, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, the United States, Hong Kong, and Canada.
Sales of natural gas to Argentina and Brazil, on the other hand, reached a value of $1.472 billion, or a 21% share, with a slight absolute increase compared to the first eight months of 2020.
The Bolivian government forecasts that exports may reach a total value of $10 billion this year, breaking a five-year cycle of decline.