Exports to LatAm expected to plummet says U.N

It’s no secret that Latin America has been hit hard by the global economic slowdown; from Mexico to Peru, the region has experienced diminished growth, lower exports, and contracted foreign investment. The region’s grave economic woes where confirmed this week in a report by a U.N. agency:

The region's exports are expected to shrink in volume by 11% in 2009, says the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac).

If the prediction proves accurate, it will be the worst drop since 1937…

According to Eclac, Latin America and the Caribbean are feeling the impact of the global economic crisis on four fronts: foreign direct investment, remittances from citizens abroad, commodity prices and trade.

The ECLAC study said that the biggest losers would be Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia since they rely on “exporting commodities, oil and minerals.” Yet the silver lining according to the ECLAC is that global recovery is expected in "two or three years" and this should include Latin America and the Caribbean.

On a related note, the Inter-American Development Bank estimated that remittances to the region will nosedive by 11% this year as money transfers from the U.S. are done in smaller amounts and less frequently than 2008.

Image- BBC News (“Oil exporters such as Venezuela have been hit by the trade slump.”)
Online Sources- BBC News, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Xinhua, The Latin Americanist