Ecuador's trade balance shifted to a USD 5.1 million surplus in July 2019 from a USD 132.6 million deficit in the corresponding month of the previous year. Exports increased 3.8 percent over a year earlier to USD 1981.8 million, boosted by higher sales of commodity goods (2.7 percent), namely shrimps (30 percent), wood (6.7 percent), cacao (12.7 percent), and flowers (17 percent); and industrial (7.1 percent), of which petroleum derivatives (59.8 percent) and chemicals & pharmaceutic products (38.9 percent). Imports dropped 3.2 percent to USD 1976.7 million, mostly due to lower purchases of commodities (-16.4 percent), in particular industrial (-13.7 percent); agricultural (-28 percent); and construction materials (-6.1 percent). Balance of Trade in Ecuador averaged -26216.48 USD Thousand from 1985 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 619602 USD Thousand in May of 2008 and a record low of -729014 USD Thousand in December of 2014.
Balance of Trade in Ecuador is expected to be -120000.00 USD Thousand by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Balance of Trade in Ecuador to stand at -1804000.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Ecuador Balance of Trade is projected to trend around -420000.00 USD Thousand in 2020, according to our econometric models.