Chile’s trade with China had a mixed start this first month of 2022: imports from the Asian giant grew 76.3% with purchases of US $ 2,795 million, while exports only showed an increase of 0.4% to total US $ 4,035 million.
This is evidenced by the figures of the foreign trade report prepared by the Department of Studies of the National Customs Service, ratifying once again that China appears as the main supplier and buyer of Chile, with a share of 35.4% in imports and 44.3% in exports as of January 31.
Chilean purchases were led by smartphones and other mobile phones, which grew by 16% compared to the first month of 2021 reaching more than US $ 135.6 million and had a share of 4.9% of total imports from China.
In second place, computers or notebooks appear, which totaled purchases of more than US $ 86.1 million with a growth of 43.6% and a share of 3.1%. And in third place are cars for tourism with a displacement between 1,000 and 1,500 cm3, with purchases of US $ 75.4 million, which meant an increase of 57.5% and a share of 2.7%.
Also noteworthy were the increases registered in the acquisitions of a type of metal part or, as defined by Customs, “flat rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width greater than or equal to 600 mm, coated with aluminum and zinc alloys”, with a 360.9% increase and transactions for more than US$ 65.6 million. Meanwhile, the other wind energy generator sets increased 7,117.4%, adding up to over US$ 40 million.
In relation to the main products sold to the Asian giant, the ranking is headed by copper ores and their concentrates (40.7% share of total exports to China), with shipments of more than US $ 1,641 million, although it had a negative variation of 14.3% when compared to the same month of 2021.
The red metal is followed by cherries with sales of more than US$ 904.5 million and an increase of 9.2% (22.4% share). Also noteworthy are the shipments of unrefined copper, which with more than US $ 143 million had an increase of 3,274%, and the other sulfates that totaled US $ 104 million which meant an increase of 43,093.1%.
Last but not least, the Customs report reveals that shipments of lithium carbonates from Chile to China had an increase of 601.5%, totaling sales of more than US $ 81.6 million in the first month of 2022. The price of the key ingredient to manufacture the batteries of electric vehicles would also be on a bullish streak that the Asian giant looks at closely.
According to data from the consultancy S&P Global Platt’s and consigned by the Mexican media specialized in the nut world and its trends such as the electric revolution Motorpasion, the prices of lithium carbonate have increased by 531% in a year, and affirm that ensuring supply “is a challenge”.
In addition, they point out that China’s lithium carbonate prices have registered new highs in recent weeks, to exceed the barrier of 303,000 yuan per metric ton; around 42,000 euros.
“We don’t have enough inventory to sell. All of our lithium carbonate is used in-house to produce lithium iron phosphate batteries, as demand for LFP remains strong,” a domestic producer told S&P Global Platt’s.
They emphasize, however, that lithium carbonate could become a market almost as volatile as that of crude oil, with strong ups and downs in price. However, they mention that in June 2020 alone, electric vehicles equipped with LFP batteries increased by 109% in China.
