The trade surplus grows, but because imports fell

On August 25, 2026, NotiCel publishes the Instituto de Estadísticas foreign-trade figures for fiscal year 2026. According to that institute, exports totaled $59,706,839,226 and imports $52,931,763,234. The trade balance came to $6,775,075,992, a 55.61 percent rise from the $4,353,983,618 of fiscal year 2025. The outlet's headline previews the reading: the surplus grows, but because of a drop in imports.

The same Institute, in that note, puts exports 1.61 percent lower and imports 6.03 percent lower, a $3,396 million decline in purchases from abroad. The United States absorbs 80.0 percent of exports, $47,785 million. Those magnitudes belong to the Institute via NotiCel.

A day earlier, on August 24, El Nuevo Día reported another layer, spoken by La Fortaleza as it announced the New York tour: exports of more than $53.9 billion against imports of $48.5 billion. On August 21, also in El Nuevo Día, Governor Jenniffer González Colón at ExpoCom cited a surplus of $5,400 million, with $53,900 million against $48,500 million. In that same ExpoCom text, the Institute puts 2025 exports at $62,435 million and the surplus at $7,402 million. Three outlets, three layers. They are not averaged. No winner is chosen.

NotiCel's note does not turn the import drop into a judgment on recession, jobs, or consumption. It reports what the Institute measured for fiscal year 2026 and compares it with fiscal year 2025. The higher surplus sits, in the same statistical paragraph, alongside falling exports and falling imports. That coexistence is the point of the headline.

Source: NotiCel. https://noticel.com/noticias/20260825/crece-el-superavit-comercial-pero-gracias-a-una-caida-en-las-importaciones/