10 March 2026
Last News

Exports from the Biobío Region recorded a significant drop during December 2025, reaching 303.4 million dollars, representing a year-on-year decrease of 31.5% compared to the same month the previous year, according to the bulletin published by the National Statistics Institute (INE).

The report indicates that the main factor behind this decline was the industrial sector, which accounts for the majority of regional shipments and which in the analyzed period recorded a 33.0% drop, equivalent to 143.3 million dollars less than in December 2024.

Industry Concentrates the Largest Export Activity

Despite the contraction, the industrial sector remains the most relevant for the regional economy, representing 95.9% of total exports. Within this sector, the activities with the highest share were:

Manufacture of pulp, paper, and cardboard, with 99.4 million dollars (32.8%).

Forestry industry, with 93.3 million dollars (30.8%).

Food industry, with 48.3 million dollars (15.9%).

These three activities concentrated almost 80% of regional exports, confirming the strong weight of the forestry and pulp sector in Biobío's productive structure.

Other Sectors Show Growth

Unlike industry, some sectors presented positive results during the analyzed month. The forestry and agricultural sector grew by 69.9%, while mining recorded a strong increase of 1,964.8%, albeit with a smaller share within the total exported. Likewise, the fishing sector experienced a 6.7% increase.

America and Asia Concentrate Shipments

Regarding destinations, America was the main receiving continent, concentrating 49% of regional exports, followed by Asia with 37%.

The five main markets for Biobío's products were:

  1. United States
  2. China
  3. South Korea
  4. Peru
  5. Mexico


Together, these countries concentrated 62.9% of regional shipments, equivalent to 191 million dollars.

Pulp Leads Exported Products

Among the most exported products during December, the following stood out:

  1. Pulp, with 89.7 million dollars
  2. Sawn wood, with 39.2 million dollars
  3. Plywood, with 15.5 million dollars

These three products represented a significant portion of regional shipments, reaffirming the leading role of the forestry sector in Biobío's export economy.

However, pulp —the main exported product— recorded a 51.7% drop, equivalent to 95.8 million dollars less compared to December 2024.

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