That calculated dollar metric results from a -60.6% reduction from $18.7 billion five years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, the value of Venezuela’s exported goods accelerated by 50.7% compared to $4.94 billion for 2022.
A federal republic on South America’s northern coast, Venezuela is bordered by Guyana to its east, Brazil to its south and Colombia to its west.
Historically, Venezuela is highly dependent on its petroleum oil exports. That concentrated percentage shows Venezuela’s vulnerability to a lower oil prices.
Given Venezuela’s population of 26.5 million people, the estimated $7.44 billion in 2023 Venezuelan exports translates to about $280 per person. That dollar metric exceeds the average $180 per capita for 2022.
Venezuela’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Venezuelan global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Venezuela.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$4.7 billion (62.6% of total exports)
- Iron, steel: $642.2 million (8.6%)
- Organic chemicals: $411.6 million (5.5%)
- Fish: $397.2 million (5.3%)
- Aluminum: $258.6 million (3.5%)
- Fertilizers: $256.1 million (3.4%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $113.4 million (1.5%)
- Copper: $111.3 million (1.5%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $77.1 million (1%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $75.3 million (1%)
Venezuela’s top 10 export product categories accounted for 94.1% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Mineral fuels including oil was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 277.2% from 2022 to 2023
In second place for improving export sales was the fertilizers category via a 36.3% advance.
Venezuela’s shipments of fish posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 11.1%.
The leading decliner among Venezuela’s top 10 export categories was electrical machinery and equipment, pulled down by a -48.1% year-over-year drop.
From the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level, crude oil represents Venezuela’s most valuable exported product accounting for 54.4% of the country’s total. In second place were petroleum oil residues (6.8%) trailed by iron or steel scrap (5.6%), acyclic alcohols (5.4%), lobsters and other crustaceans (3.6%), nitrogenous fertilizers (3.4%), raw aluminum (3%), iron ore reduced products (1.4%), iron ores or concentrates (1.2%), then coals including solid fuels made from coal (1.1%).
The 10 major products from the more detailed HTS code perspective generated 86% of overall Venezuelan export sales for 2023.
Products Generating Highest Trade Surpluses for Venezuela
The following types of Venezuelan product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$4 billion (Up by 300.1% since 2022)
- Iron, steel: $542.4 million (Down by -38.2%)
- Fish: $382.5 million (Up by 11.8%)
- Organic chemicals: $295.1 million (Down by -4.5%)
- Fertilizers: $208.4 million (Up by 30.1%)
- Aluminum: $207 million (Down by -39.7%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $113.2 million (Down by -0.5%)
- Copper: $68 million (Down by -31.1%)
- Collector items, art, antiques: $18.1 million (Reducing a -$520,000 deficit)
- Cocoa: $18 million (Up by 99.4%)
Venezuela has highly positive net exports particularly in the international trade of petroleum oil residues and crude oil. In turn, these cashflows indicate Venezuela’s strong competitive advantages under the mineral fuels including oil product category.
Products Causing Worst Trade Deficits for Venezuela
Venezuela posted an overall -US$3.85 billion trade deficit during 2023, shrinking by -38.5% from the -$6.26 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2022.
Below are exports from Venezuela that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Venezuela’s goods trail Venezuelan importer spending on foreign products.
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -US$1.2 billion (Up by 15.1% since 2022)
- Machinery including computers: -$1.1 billion (Up by 24.6%)
- Vehicles: -$843.4 million (Up by 30.7%)
- Cereals: -$755.9 million (Down by -1.4%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$488.7 million (Down by -22.6%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: -$388.6 million (Up by 13.7%)
- Cereal/milk preparations: -$341.5 million (Down by -4.1%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$287.3 million (Down by -38.3%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): -$262.1 million (Down by -2.1%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$261.2 million (Down by -27%)
Venezuela has highly negative net exports and therefore international trade deficits notably for machinery including electronics and computers.
Major Venezuelan Export Companies
Two Venezuelan corporations ranked among Forbes Global 2000, namely:
- Mercantil Servicios
- Banco Occidental
Both corporations are regional banks.
Wikipedia lists exporters from Venezuela. Selected examples are shown below.
Citgo Petroleum Corporation and Petróleos de Venezuela are two of Venezuela’s largest oil and gas companies.
CVG Alcasa is a leading aluminum producer. Siderúrgica del Orinoco and Siderúrgica del Turbio, S.A. are examples of Venezuelan steel manufacturers.
In macroeconomic terms, Venezuela’s total exported goods represented 3.5% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($210.8 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That percentage compares to 1.8% one year earlier in 2022. Those percentages suggest an increasing dependence on international trade for Venezuela’s overall economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Venezuela’s average unemployment rate for 2023 was 5.53%, down from an average 5.75% one year earlier in 2022 according to Statista.
Venezuela’s capital is Caracas, a city nicknamed The Avila’s Sultana.
See also Venezuela’s Top 10 Imports, Brazil’s Top 10 Imports, Top South American Export Countries and Argentina’s Top 10 Imports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, South America: Venezuela. Accessed on July 29, 2024
Forbes 2023 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 29, 2024
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on July 29, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on July 29, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 29, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 29, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on July 29, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Venezuela. Accessed on July 29, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on July 29, 2024
Wikipedia, Venezuela. Accessed on July 29, 2024