Gold major export product in Panama

PANAMA- EXPORTS

July 2011

Gold was the main export product of Panama in May of the year, the total sales worth was of 43 million 100 thousand dollars, the Ministry of Economy and Finance informed today.

The yellow metal increased its sale by 15.1 million dollars until May of 2011, and exports went mainly to Canada which is the second largest destination of Panama’s total sales.

Its first customer is the United States of America absorbing 74.4 million of the total exported, although this value was 12.7 million inferior to what was register the previous year, due to lower shipments of seafood and fruits.

The Division of Economic Analysis of that office stated in its report that for the first time the difference between the values exported in the year 2010 versus the year 2011 was diminished. In the analyzed period the advantage of the last was of 28.3 percent equivalent to 18 million dollars.

The value of exportation of goods totaled 327 million 600 thousand dollars from January to May 2011, a negative difference of just a 0.7 percent equivalent to 2.3 million dollars compared to the same period of 2010.

This large cut off between one year and the other had a special protagonist, gold.

After the Golden metal the most sold products where banana with 36.5 million dollars, sugar cane with 19 million, tropical fruits such as watermelon and pineapple made 16.5 million each one, but also lower than total amounts from the last year.

The value of the exportation of the most important items from metallic scrap (iron and Steel scrap, and copper) which goes to the Asian market reached 23.6 million dollars.