Paraguay’s Maquila Exports Pass USD 1 Billion as Manufacturing Accelerates

Paraguay's Maquila Exports Pass USD 1 Billion as Manufacturing Accelerates

Exports under Paraguay’s Maquila regime reached USD 1.01 billion in the first eight months of 2026, up 26% year on year. The result highlights the growing weight of export-oriented manufacturing in the economy, with auto parts, garments, beverages and aluminium leading the expansion.

3 October 2026

Paraguay’s Maquila industries exported USD 1.01 billion between January and August 2026, compared with USD 801 million in the same period of 2025, according to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC). August alone generated USD 150 million in shipments, taking the accumulated total above USD 1 billion for the first time at this point in the year.

Export growth broadens the manufacturing base

Auto parts, garments and textiles, alcoholic beverages and aluminium products accounted for 70% of Maquila exports through August. The export basket also included chemicals and pharmaceuticals, plastics, food products and other manufactured goods, showing a broader industrial base than the traditional image of Paraguay as primarily an agricultural exporter.

The sector’s geographic concentration remains high. Around 90% of companies with approved Maquila programmes are located in Alto Paraná, Central, Asunción and Amambay, areas that combine access to labour, logistics and the Brazilian and Argentine markets.

Mercosur remains the main destination

Mercosur absorbed 77% of Maquila exports during the period, with Brazil and Argentina as the principal destinations. Paraguayan manufacturers also shipped to the Netherlands, the United States, Chile and Uruguay. The figures underline both the importance of regional integration and the still limited diversification of final markets outside South America.

Employment and the trade balance are expanding

The MIC estimates that the regime now supports close to 40,000 jobs. Seventy per cent of employment is concentrated in garments, auto parts, intangible services, plastics and chemical-pharmaceutical activities. The regime has therefore become relevant not only for exports, but also for formal industrial employment.

The trade balance of the sector is also strongly positive. Maquila companies imported USD 529 million of inputs and equipment through August, 17% more than a year earlier, while exports reached USD 1.01 billion. Exports were therefore 91% higher than imports, reflecting the transformation of imported inputs into goods and services for foreign markets.

A modernised framework for new investment

The expansion is taking place under the updated Maquila framework established by Law 7,547/2025 and regulated in 2026. The regime applies a 1% single tax on Paraguayan value added or the export invoice value, whichever is higher, together with customs and tax benefits for qualifying operations. The new framework also clarifies operating modalities and procedures, giving investors a more defined structure for export manufacturing and services.

Maquila already accounted for 69% of Paraguay’s exports of industrial manufactures at the end of 2025. If current growth continues, the regime will remain one of the country’s main channels for converting competitive operating costs, access to Mercosur and imported inputs into higher-value exports.

Sources