Chile’s trade surplus widened to $2.05 billion in September 2026 from $1.76 billion a year earlier, marking the largest surplus since June. Exports increased 14.1% to $10.58 billion, driven by a 12.2% rise in mining shipments—led by copper (up 14%) and lithium carbonate (up 127.3%)—and a 19.1% increase in industrial goods, particularly food products (up 18.8%), basic metals (up 42.7%), and metal products, machinery and equipment (up 32.6%). Sales of agricultural, forestry and fishing products also advanced, rising 8.9%.
On the import side, total purchases grew 13.5% to $8.54 billion, supported by higher imports of consumer goods (up 13.1%), especially cellphones (up 35.4%), and intermediate goods (up 25.8%). The latter were boosted mainly by energy products, with diesel imports surging 182.1% (compared with 63.2% in August) and oil imports increasing 2.1% (compared with 120.5% in August). In contrast, imports of capital goods fell 9.4%.
