WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) — The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says the value of goods exported from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) grew by an estimated 6.4 per cent in 2025, an improvement over the 4.7 per cent increase recorded in the previous year.

According to the latest edition of the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) report, titled “Trade Trends Estimates for Latin America and the Caribbean”, the expansion was driven by higher export volumes, while prices improved only marginally.

It said that regional exports were boosted mainly by higher sales of metals, especially gold, copper, and silver, and solid performance in the agro-industrial sector, with gains in products such as coffee, cocoa, fruit, and meat.

Several manufacturing sectors also stood out, including data-processing machinery, medical supplies, vehicles, and plastics.

“Despite the challenging global environment, Latin America and the Caribbean’s recent export performance has shown remarkable resilience,” said Paolo Giordano, principal economist in the IDB’s Productivity, Trade and Innovation Sector, who coordinated the report.

The analysis identified signs that the region may be entering a phase of sustained trade growth, although the balance of risks remains moderately tilted to the downside, and the outlook continues to be shaped by a highly uncertain environment.

The report notes that countries in the region need to promote reforms and attract investments to improve productivity and make their economies more competitive in international markets. In particular, they need to reduce trade costs and support exports and investments to ensure that international trade remains a major driver of economic growth.

Increases were observed across all subregions, though dynamics varied. In South America and Mesoamerica, the expansion of exports accelerated, driven by faster growth in volumes. In Central America, shipments posted strong growth, but momentum weakened in the second half of the year.

In the Caribbean, aggregate results masked pronounced volatility and significant disparities across countries.

According to the report, the growth in export values for the Bahamas was minus 0.3 per cent this year, down from minus 6.4 per cent; Barbados minus 8.3 per cent last year from minus 1.2 per cent in 2024; Belize minus 8.7 per cent last year from 12.7 per cent; Guyana 18.3 per cent as against 137.6 per cent; Jamaica minus 6.2 per cent last year from minus 6.3 per cent; Suriname 70.4 per cent from minus 40.2 per cent; and Trinidad and Tobago 5.6 per cent last year from 3.5 per cent the previous year.

The IDB report said that total imports in Latin America and the Caribbean also gained momentum. External purchases increased by 6.1 per cent in 2025, up from 3.2 per cent in 2024, in line with the rebound in domestic demand and the evolution of world trade, the report estimated.

The report said that prices for the region’s main export commodities followed different paths in 2025. In the agriculture sector, coffee prices rose 49.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2024 (January-November), while soybean prices fell 6.7 per cent year-on-year and sugar prices declined by 17.4 per cent. Gold prices rose by 42.2 per cent year-on-year in the same period, and copper prices averaged a 12.9 per cent increase.

Iron ore prices dropped by 7.8 per cent, while oil prices dropped by 14.3 per cent year-on-year between January and November.

The IDB report said that exports continued to expand in the Caribbean, but at a more moderate pace: the 41.2 per cent expansion of 2024 gave way to a 14.6 per cent rise in 2025. This growth was highly volatile and concentrated in a few countries.