That calculated dollar metric results from a 129.8% acceleration from $5.92 billion five years earlier in 2020.
Year over year, the value of Venezuela’s exported goods spiked by 78.4% compared to $7.63 billion for 2023.
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 26.6 million people, the estimated $13.6 billion in 2024 Venezuelan exports translates to about $500 per person. That dollar metric exceeds the average $280 per capita for 2023.
Venezuela’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Venezuelan global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Venezuela.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$10.8 billion (79.6% of total exports)
- Iron, steel: $456.1 million (3.4%)
- Organic chemicals: $446.8 million (3.3%)
- Fish: $367.3 million (2.7%)
- Aluminum: $313.8 million (2.3%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $298.1 million (2.2%)
- Fertilizers: $196 million (1.4%)
- Copper: $131.1 million (1%)
- Cocoa: $108.1 million (0.8%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $68.5 million (0.5%)
Venezuela’s top 10 export product categories accounted for 97.1% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Ores, slag and ash was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 157.8% from 2023 to 2024. Iron ores and concentrates was a major driver for this category.
In second place for improving export sales was the mineral fuels including oil category via a 131.7% advance.
Venezuela’s shipments of cocoa posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 128.9%.
The leading decliner among Venezuela’s top 10 export categories was for the metals iron and steel, pulled down by a -29% year-over-year drop.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level, crude oil represents Venezuela’s most valuable exported product accounting for 72.4% of the country’s total. In second place were petroleum oil residues (3.3%) trailed by acyclic alcohols (also 3.3%), iron or steel scrap (2.2%), iron ores or concentrates (2.1%), processed petroleum oils (also 2.1%), lobsters and other crustaceans (1.9%), raw aluminum (also 1.9%), nitrogenous fertilizers (1.4%), then asphalt or petroleum bitumen mixes (1%).
The 10 major products from the more detailed HTS code perspective generated 91.5% of overall Venezuelan export sales for 2024.
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$8.5 billion (Up by 113% since 2023)
- Fish: $357 million (Down by -6.4%)
- Iron, steel: $299.3 million (Down by -44.8%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $298.1 million (Up by 158.2%)
- Organic chemicals: $285.7 million (Down by -8.5%)
- Aluminum: $258.5 million (Up by 25.6%)
- Fertilizers: $170.3 million (Down by -18%)
- Copper: $78.9 million (Up by 16%)
- Cocoa: $68.8 million (Up by 280.2%)
- Wood: $16.4 million (Up by 12%)
Venezuela has highly positive net exports historically 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 estimated -US$1.46 billion trade deficit during 2024, shrinking by -63.2% from the -$3.97 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2023.
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.
- Machinery including computers: -US$1.6 billion (Up by 38% since 2023)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$1.3 billion (Up by 12.8%)
- Vehicles: -$1.2 billion (Up by 23.4%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$706.5 million (Up by 43.4%)
- Cereals: -$702.2 million (Down by -7.1%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: -$364.4 million (Down by -6.2%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): -$316.1 million (Up by 17.6%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$308.3 million (Up by 18.3%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: -$304.6 million (Up by 26.8%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$283.5 million (Down by -1.6%)
Venezuela has highly negative net exports and therefore international trade deficits notably for machinery including computers and other electronics.
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 6% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($227.3 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That percentage compares to 3.5% one year earlier in 2023. 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 2024 was 5.475%, down from an average 5.485% one year earlier in 2023 according to Trading Economics metrics.
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 May 10, 2025
Forbes 2024 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 10, 2025
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on May 10, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 10, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 10, 2025
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on May 10, 2025
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Venezuela. Accessed on May 10, 2025
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on May 10, 2025
Wikipedia, Venezuela. Accessed on May 10, 2025