01Key Takeaways
- Paraguay imported $16.13 billion worth of goods in 2023, up 1.6% from $15.88 billion in 2022, the fourth straight year of growth and a new five-year high.
- China supplied 33.7% of imports ($5.43 billion), more than any other partner, even though Paraguay has no formal diplomatic relations with Beijing.
- Electrical machinery led import categories at 20.3% of the total ($3.28 billion), followed by mineral fuels at 13.1% ($2.11 billion).
- Fertilizers ranked fifth among import categories at 4.5% ($724.64 million), an input tied directly to the soybean farming that dominates Paraguay's export economy.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $12.5B | $10.2B | $13.6B | $15.9B | $16.1B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $5.4B | 33.7% |
| 2 | Brazil | $3.9B | 24.3% |
| 3 | United States | $1.3B | 8.0% |
| 4 | Argentina | $1.3B | 7.9% |
| 5 | Germany | $342.2M | 2.1% |
| 6 | India | $299.4M | 1.9% |
| 7 | Japan | $268.0M | 1.7% |
| 8 | United Arab Emirates | $187.3M | 1.2% |
| 9 | South Korea | $184.5M | 1.1% |
| 10 | Switzerland | $167.9M | 1.0% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $3.3B | 20.3% |
| 2 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $2.1B | 13.1% |
| 3 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $1.9B | 11.8% |
| 4 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $1.3B | 8.1% |
| 5 | Fertilisers | $724.6M | 4.5% |
| 6 | Miscellaneous Chemical Products | $553.0M | 3.4% |
| 7 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $493.4M | 3.1% |
| 8 | Pharmaceutical Products | $485.8M | 3.0% |
| 9 | Rubber and Articles thereof | $408.0M | 2.5% |
| 10 | Iron and Steel | $346.5M | 2.1% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Imports Have Climbed to a New Five-Year High
Paraguay imported $16.13 billion worth of goods in 2023, up 1.6% from $15.88 billion in 2022. That is the fourth consecutive year of growth and the strongest total anywhere in this five-year dataset for the country.
Imports stood at $12.54 billion in 2019, then fell to $10.22 billion in 2020 as the pandemic disrupted global trade. Recovery followed quickly. The total climbed to $13.56 billion in 2021, then $15.88 billion in 2022 and $16.13 billion in 2023. Growth has slowed sharply in percentage terms even as the total keeps setting new highs, a sign that the steep post-pandemic rebound has given way to a much more modest pace of expansion. Notably, Paraguay's import total has consistently run larger than its export total throughout this five-year window, a gap covered from the other side in the companion export data for this country. A landlocked economy this deeply tied to manufactured imports and imported energy tends to run that kind of trade gap as a matter of course, year after year, regardless of how strong any given harvest turns out to be.
China Supplies a Third of Paraguay's Imports Despite No Formal Diplomatic Ties
China supplied 33.7% of Paraguay's imports in 2023, worth $5.43 billion, more than double the next-largest partner. That figure sits alongside an unusual fact. Paraguay has never established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, maintaining formal ties with Taiwan instead since 1957, with Chinese affairs handled through a consulate in São Paulo, Brazil rather than an embassy in Asunción. Trade clearly does not require an embassy. Goods manufactured in China still reach Paraguay in enormous volume, even as the reverse flow looks completely different. China does not appear among Paraguay's top ten export destinations at all, covered in the companion export data for this country, an asymmetry that traces directly back to this same diplomatic situation. The two directions of Paraguay's trade with China, in short, tell almost opposite stories, and reading either one on its own would miss half of what is actually happening between the two economies.
Brazil ranked second at 24.3% ($3.92 billion), and the USA followed at 8.0% ($1.29 billion). Together with China, those three suppliers made up 66.0% of total import value. Argentina added 7.9% ($1.27 billion), and Germany contributed 2.1% ($342.19 million). India added 1.9% ($299.39 million), and Japan contributed 1.7% ($268.04 million). The United Arab Emirates added 1.2% ($187.31 million), and the Rep. of Korea contributed 1.1% ($184.54 million). Switzerland closed out the top ten at 1.0% ($167.85 million).
Electrical Machinery and Fuel Top an Import List Built for Manufacturing and Farming
Electrical machinery led every import category in 2023, worth $3.28 billion, or 20.3% of the total, much of it likely arriving from the same Chinese manufacturing base that supplies so much of the partner total above. Mineral fuels followed at 13.1% ($2.11 billion), consistent with a country that has no significant oil or gas production of its own. Machinery and mechanical appliances added 11.8% ($1.90 billion), and vehicles contributed 8.1% ($1.30 billion).
Fertilizers ranked fifth at 4.5% ($724.64 million), an input that connects directly to the soybean and grain farming that dominates Paraguay's export economy. Chemical products added 3.4% ($552.97 million), and plastics contributed 3.1% ($493.41 million). Pharmaceutical products added 3.0% ($485.81 million), and rubber contributed 2.5% ($407.97 million). Iron and steel closed out the top ten at 2.1% ($346.49 million). None of these smaller categories rivals electrical machinery or fuel in scale, but together they fill out a list that looks like a country supplying both its factories and its farms from abroad.
Taken together, Paraguay's 2023 import data describes a country buying manufactured goods and energy from China, Brazil and the United States, while sourcing the fertilizer that keeps its own export engine running. The fuel and fertilizer figures in particular tie this import list directly back to the soybean-driven export profile covered in the companion data for this country. Neither category is optional for an economy built the way Paraguay's is. Fuel keeps farm machinery, trucks and processing plants running. Fertilizer keeps yields high enough to sustain the soybean volumes that fund most of what the country earns from selling to the rest of the world.