Paraguay’s trade balance registered a surplus of $746.6 million in the first half of this year, with exports totaling $10,162 million and imports $9,416 million, the central bank reported on Monday.
This result contrasts with the $697.9 million deficit recorded in the same period of 2025.
According to the June Foreign Trade Report, exports rose 23.6% compared with $8,219 million recorded in the same period of the previous year.
“The increase in recorded exports was mainly explained by higher shipments of soybeans, soybean oil, and beverages, alcoholic liquids and vinegar,” the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP) said.
Soybeans are the country’s main export, totaling $2,273 million between January and June, a 50.9% increase compared with the $1,506 million shipped in the same period of 2025.
Beef and offal exports ranked second at $935.4 million, although they fell 12.7% between January and June compared with shipments in the previous year.
Argentina remained the main destination for Paraguayan exports in the first half of 2026, accounting for 42.3% of the total, with shipments worth $2,770.8 million.
Sales to the neighboring country grew 52.5% compared with the same period in 2025.
Brazil was in second place and Chile third.
Imports rose 9.6% in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, when they totaled $8,592 million.
China — a country with which Paraguay does not maintain diplomatic relations — remains the main supplier to local importers, with $3,317 million in imports and a 36% share.
The main products from the Asian giant are mobile phones, portable data-processing machines, and tires.
Brazil and the United States were the second and third sources of imports, with $1,979 million and $585.7 million, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government on Tuesday rejected accusations from the United States and Paraguay that actors linked to Beijing had infiltrated the South American country’s cyber systems, and accused Washington of using cybersecurity as a political pretext to discredit China.
At a routine press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian accused the United States of drawing countries in the region by using cybersecurity as an excuse to single out and discredit China.
He urged the countries involved not to become “instruments of U.S. geopolitics” or “accomplices of the U.S. government in spreading false information about alleged Chinese cyberattacks.”
The spokesman added that China opposes hacking activities as well as the spread of disinformation for political purposes.
Last Friday, the governments of the United States and Paraguay reported that during a “joint cybersecurity review” they detected the infiltration of “multiple threat actors,” linked to China, in the South American country’s state cyber systems.
(With information from EFE)