Bolivia Exports Decline 32.9% in January From a Year Earlier By Jonathan J. Levin March 6 (Bloomberg) -- Bolivian exports fell 32.9 percent in January from a year earlier, led by a drop in shipments of manufactured goods and natural gas. Exports totaled $345.85 million in the period, Bolivia’s National Statistics Institute said today in an e-mailed report. Foreign sales of manufactured goods fell 46 percent to $76 million, while hydrocarbon sales fell 32 percent to $177 million. Brazil remained Bolivia’s biggest customer, accounting for about 42 percent of its exports by purchasing $145 million in Bolivian products. Bolivia has the second-biggest natural gas reserves in South America after Venezuela. President George W. Bush cut Bolivia from the Andean trade preference program on Oct. 16, stripping the country of duty-free access to U.S. markets for clothing and other manufactured goods. To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan J. Levin in La Paz at Jlevin20@bloomberg.net |