Exports (Trade Balance)

Exports (Trade Balance) are the total value of physical goods sold to the rest of the world, based on customs data. Goods are typically measured on a FOB (free-on-board) basis and recorded when they physically cross the border. Unlike exports in the Balance of Payments or National Accounts, this measure covers only goods (not services), relies on customs declarations, and does not adjust for economic ownership, merchanting, or processing abroad. It is used primarily to calculate the trade balance of goods. This indicator is part of the Latin Macro Watch (LMW) dataset published by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on data.iadb.org for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Coverage

Data are available for 22 countries at annual, monthly, and quarterly frequency, covering the period 1990–2026. Values are reported as a percentage of GDP and in millions of USD, and can be viewed with growth-rate transformations (MoM %, QoQ %, YoY %).

Sources

Figures are compiled from official central banks and statistical agencies, including Banco Central de Chile, Banco de Mexico (Banxico), the Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE) - Colombia, INDEC - Argentina, and the Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada, among others across the region.

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Format	CSV
Language	en
Country	Argentina Bahamas Trinidad & Tobago Belize Costa Rica Dominican Republic Ecuador Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia El Salvador Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Panama Uruguay Venezuela Barbados Paraguay Peru Suriname
Data notes	What does this indicator measure? It measures the total value of physical goods sold to the rest of the world, based on customs data, typically on a FOB (free-on-board) basis and recorded when goods cross the border. How does it differ from other export measures? Unlike Balance of Payments or National Accounts exports, it covers only goods (not services), relies on customs declarations, and does not adjust for economic ownership, merchanting, or processing abroad. How many countries and which frequencies and period are covered? The indicator covers 22 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean at annual, monthly, and quarterly frequency, spanning 1990 to 2026. What units and transformations are available? Values are available as a percentage of GDP and in millions of USD. Growth rates (MoM %, QoQ %, YoY %) are also available. Where does the data come from? Data are compiled from official central banks and statistical agencies such as Banco Central de Chile, Banco de Mexico (Banxico), DANE - Colombia, INDEC - Argentina, and the Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada. How do I cite this indicator? Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Latin Macro Watch — "Exports (Trade Balance)". data.iadb.org/dataset/latin-macro-watch-dataset.