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Georgia's LatAm trade increasing with Brazil, Mexico, Trinidad

November 1st, 2006

Georgia’s trade with Latin America and the Caribbean is growing fastest with Brazil and Mexico in the short term and Brazil, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago over the medium term, according to WorldCity analysis of the most recent U.S. Census data.

WorldCity is hosting an event in Atlanta on Nov. 8 focused on Georgia’s opportunities in the region. Click here to register or for details.

Brazil and Mexico are the region’s two largest economies while Trinidad and Tobago is a large exporter of natural gas.

Georgia’s trade, led by the Port of Savannah, Atlanta Jackson Hartsfield International Airport and the Port of Brunswick, is led by Asian and European trade more than trade within the Western Hemisphere.

Brazil is the highest-ranking Latin American trade partner with Georgia, ranking No. 17, up four notches from the same period in 2003.

2006 Ga. Rank	2005 Ga. Rank	Total Trade	August 2006 YTD	August 2005 YTD	1-Yr $ Ch	1 Yr % ch
17	21	Brazil	$728,639,968	$554,752,102	$173,887,866	31.35%
20	18	Trinidad and Tobago	$670,233,267	$639,389,919	$30,843,348	4.82%
26	27	Mexico	$451,371,325	$277,193,905	$174,177,420	62.84%
28	24	Venezuela	$417,387,442	$376,925,023	$40,462,419	10.73%
37	42	Canada	$174,848,110	$114,175,282	$60,672,828	53.14%
43	48	Guatemala	$149,800,360	$93,079,276	$56,721,084	60.94%
45	50	Colombia	$137,074,628	$86,226,101	$50,848,527	58.97%
47	45	Dominican Republic	$125,463,676	$103,243,309	$22,220,367	21.52%
49	32	Argentina	$121,314,191	$188,858,734	($67,544,543)	-35.76%
50	90	Netherlands Antilles	$119,895,193	$10,399,008	$109,496,185	1052.95%
53	47	Chile	$95,619,656	$93,516,126	$2,103,530	2.25%
55	84	Nicaragua	$87,764,778	$16,068,774	$71,696,004	446.18%
56	66	Peru	$86,482,661	$39,239,862	$47,242,799	120.39%
60	59	El Salvador	$73,414,293	$50,434,934	$22,979,359	45.56%
61	43	Aruba	$67,080,908	$111,864,352	($44,783,444)	-40.03%
65	64	Costa Rica	$51,653,726	$40,120,514	$11,533,212	28.75%
66	55	Jamaica	$46,088,637	$64,468,044	($18,379,407)	-28.51%
67	71	Bermuda	$45,919,711	$29,002,924	$16,916,787	58.33%
71	70	Panama	$43,286,424	$29,389,851	$13,896,573	47.28%
73	73	Honduras	$41,752,715	$23,103,041	$18,649,674	80.72%
74	72	Ecuador	$37,706,123	$23,460,803	$14,245,320	60.72%
87	83	Uruguay	$14,616,755	$17,070,839	($2,454,084)	-14.38%
88	86	Haiti	$12,958,583	$15,692,445	($2,733,862)	-17.42%
97	87	Guyana	$9,054,962	$13,708,927	($4,653,965)	-33.95%
104	107	Bahamas	$6,238,592	$6,332,998	($94,406)	-1.49%
105	105	Belize	$5,739,588	$6,674,682	($935,094)	-14.01%
109	129	Bolivia	$5,176,336	$2,473,426	$2,702,910	109.28%
112	122	Barbados	$4,259,378	$3,090,570	$1,168,808	37.82%
125	149	Paraguay	$2,569,185	$1,358,127	$1,211,058	89.17%
126	153	Grenada	$2,263,402	$1,010,855	$1,252,547	123.91%
144	65	Cayman Islands	$1,340,554	$39,626,193	($38,285,639)	-96.62%
157	161	Antigua and Barbuda	$749,896	$686,411	$63,485	9.25%
163	178	Guadeloupe	$565,295	$238,539	$326,756	136.98%
164	194	Dominica	$553,760	$25,074	$528,686	2108.50%
167	162	St Lucia	$537,053	$644,123	($107,070)	-16.62%
174	180	British Virgin Islands	$310,390	$174,523	$135,867	77.85%
177	171	Martinique	$262,909	$367,889	($104,980)	-28.54%
182	174	St Vincent and the Grenadines	$174,630	$278,864	($104,234)	-37.38%
184	182	St Kitts and Nevis	$135,346	$149,838	($14,492)	-9.67%
203	244	Turks and Caicos Islands	$20,906	$-	$20,906	NA
244	169	Cuba	$-	$483,926	($483,926)	-100.00%
242	230	Falkland Islands	$-	$-	$-	NA
217	211	Virgin Islands of the United States	$-	$-	$-	NA
233	222	Montserrat	$-	$-	$-	NA

But Georgia has been seeking to increase its trade with Latin America and the Caribbean. That effort is spurred by its desire to be named the Secretariat, or headquarters, for the now-grounded Free Trade Area of the Americas, an attempt to create the world’s largest free-trade zone, and a refocusing by Delta Airlines into international markets, including Latin America.

While most of the Latin American and Caribbean nations have Miami as their No. 1 trade hub, Houston and Los Angeles also figure in trade with oil-exporters Venezuela and Ecuador. Much of Mexico’s trade with the United States enters through Laredo, Texas.

Nevertheless, Georgia’s efforts to increase ties to the region appear to be bearing fruit. Through the first eight months of 2006, trade with Brazil is up 31 percent, with Mexico up 63 percent, with Guatemala 61 percent and with Colombia 59 percent.

In percentage terms, the fastest-growing trade partners in 2006 are a 1,053 percent gain with the Netherland Antilles and a 2,109 percent gain with the island of Dominica.

But the story of Latin America is also the story of instability, and that shows up in the numbers as well.

Trade with nine hemispheric partners is down through the first eight months of the year, according to WorldCity analysis.

Although its economy has largely recovered from its near collapse earlier this decade, Argentina’s trade is off 36 percent while Aruba’s is off 40 percent and Jamaica’s, 29 percent.

On the export side, Georgia showed a decrease with 11 Latin American and Caribbean nations through August of this year, when compared to a similar period in 2005. On the import side, the total is 10.