Original article: Intercambio comercial de Chile alcanzó niveles récord entre enero y abril de 2026: El litio casi triplicó sus envíos

Chile’s Trade Reaches Record Levels in Early 2026: Lithium Exports Nearly Triple

Chile’s trade reached unprecedented levels from January to April 2026, totaling US$ 69.963 billion, marking an 8.2% increase compared to the same period last year.

In this context, exports reached US$ 39.772 billion, up 12% from January-April 2025, continuing a sustained upward trend since 2020, when exports were recorded at US$ 23.031 billion.

These figures were derived from the latest Monthly Foreign Trade Report, prepared by the Undersecretariat of International Economic Relations (Subrei), through its Directorate of Studies, utilizing data from the Central Bank and the National Customs Service, which analyzes national trade during the period.

In detail, the mining sector as a whole experienced a 19.6% growth during the first four months of the year, accounting for 59.4% of total exports. Lithium notably nearly tripled its shipments compared to 2025, reaching US$ 2.137 billion.

This surge was primarily driven by shipments of carbonates, sulfates, and hydroxides amid a global increase in demand for strategic minerals vital for the energy transition.

Meanwhile, copper exports generated US$ 19.053 billion during the period (+9.6%), with increases across nearly all categories, including cathodes, concentrates, anodes, and blister copper.

Additionally, non-traditional exports—those distinct from the main mining exports like copper—also recorded their best start to the year since records began, exceeding US$ 18.201 billion, an increase of 11.4% compared to the same period in 2025.

Among the products that led this growth were frozen Chilean jack mackerel, whole chilled salmon, hazelnuts, fresh apples, avocados, and frozen raspberries, showcasing the diversity of the national export base.

In the food sector, exports reached a new historical maximum, totaling US$ 4.895 billion from January to April, a 5% increase driven by shipments of salmon, jack mackerel, olive oil, and frozen raspberries, among others.

Conversely, the fruit sector recorded a 9.2% decline compared to 2025, primarily due to lower shipments of fresh cherries, although declines were partially offset by increases in apples, plums, avocados, kiwis, and nectarines.

Regarding the universe of exporting companies, in the first four months of 2026, a total of 5,755 companies registered international sales, with manufacturing accounting for the largest number of exporters at 3,145, followed by the agricultural sector (1,312) and services (839).

Collectively, all exporters generated 930,000 formal jobs. The region with the most companies exporting during the period was Latin America (3,921), followed by Europe (1,639), North America (1,562), Asia and Oceania (1,389), the Middle East (182), and Africa (156).

Finally, service exports rounded out the picture, totaling US$ 1.197 billion during the period, an increase of 5.2% compared to the same timeframe in 2025. The leading services included aircraft maintenance and repair (US$ 249 million), cloud hosting services (US$ 169 million), and administrative management, marketing, and information technology consulting.

Review the complete progress report from Subrei HERE

El Ciudadano