Despite the imposition of tariffs by the United States, Mexico’s exports grew at an annual rate of 5.8% in April, according to data released by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).
However, Mexico’s trade balance showed a deficit of $88 million for the month, mainly due to the impact of US tariffs. This marked a departure from the previous months, when the trade surplus had shown a positive trend.
Mexico’s exports totaled $54.3 billion in April, up 5.8% from the same period last year. Non-petroleum goods accounted for $52.5 billion, representing an increase of 6.6% over the same period in 2024.
Manufactured goods drove this growth, with exports totaling $49.1 billion and a 6.6% increase over April 2024. However, the industrial sector, one of the most affected by US tariffs, saw exports decline by 7.1% to $15.3 billion.
The biggest increases were seen in machinery and equipment for various industries (62.5%), products made of metal for domestic use (18.8%), scientific and professional equipment (18.5%), electrical and electronic equipment (6.4%), and mineral and metallurgical products (2.5%).
Meanwhile, petroleum exports dropped by 13.2% to $1.8 billion in April. Exports of non-petroleum goods to the United States increased by 5.7% at an annual rate, accounting for 84.17% of total exports.
In contrast, non-petroleum exports to the rest of the world rose by 11.7%. Total imports stood at $54.4 billion in April, down 1.2% from the same period last year.
Imports of consumer goods decreased by 4.2%, mainly due to a decline in non-petroleum consumer goods (-14.3%) and an increase in petroleum consumer goods (75.5%), particularly gasoline and gas butane and propane.
Intermediate use goods imports increased by 1.9% to $41.7 billion, driven by a rise of 35.4% in petroleum intermediate goods and a decrease of 0.1% in non-petroleum intermediate goods.
Capital goods imports dropped by 18.8% to $4.7 billion.
Despite this mixed performance, Mexico’s trade balance showed a surplus of $10 million in the first quarter of 2025, compared with a deficit of $6.5 billion over the same period last year.
Total exports grew at an annual rate of 4.5% in January-April 2025, reaching $203.6 billion. This was driven by a 5.7% increase in non-petroleum exports and a decline of 20.0% in petroleum exports.
Total imports stood at $202.5 billion over the same period, up 0.6% from the same period last year. Non-petroleum imports decreased by 0.1%, while petroleum imports increased by 10.5%.
Source: La Jornada
