Food imports in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income): Food imports was 8.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Food imports in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), 1962–2024
Source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division. Measured in % of merchandise imports.
Analysis
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) recorded 8.3% for food imports in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.2% on the previous year and up 15.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, food imports in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) peaked at 15.5% in 1983 and was at its lowest, 6.5%, in 2006.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 62 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.9% | 8.3% | 11.3% | 8 |
| 1970s | 10.4% | 8.4% | 13.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.4% | 10.1% | 15.5% | 9 |
| 1990s | 9.6% | 8.2% | 12.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.5% | 6.5% | 8.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.4% | 6.9% | 8.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.4% | 7.9% | 9.1% | 5 |
More private sector data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
- Merchandise exports 1.37 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Manufactures exports 61.3% (2025)
- Food exports 19.4% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 1.40 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Manufactures imports 74.3% (2024)
- Merchandise trade 43.4% (2025)
- Commercial service exports 213.40 billion current US$ (2025)
- Transport services 30.2% (2025)
- Computer, communications and other services 36.3% (2025)
- Commercial service imports 301.91 billion current US$ (2025)
All data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is food imports in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- Food imports in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) was 8.3% in 2024, according to Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division.
- What is the highest food imports recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 15.5% in 1983.
- What is the lowest food imports recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.5% in 2006.
- Is food imports rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) data come from?
- The figures come from Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division, published as part of Food imports (% of merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 62 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Food comprises the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) sections 0 (food and live animals), 1 (beverages and tobacco), and 4 (animal and vegetable oils and fats) and division 22 (oil seeds, oil nuts, and oil kernels). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise imports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a non-resident and a resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e.