Bioeconomy satellite accounts for 13 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: methodology and results

The System of National Accounts (SNA) is the accounting mechanism through which countries monitor their economic performance, especially with the calculation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), among other indicators. Satellite accounts are an option to make the scope of the SNA more flexible and broaden its scope, while maintaining consistency with its basic concepts, definitions and classifications. Evaluating the bioeconomy from the perspective of satellite accounts makes it possible to determine its economic contribution in a manner consistent with the information derived from the SNA.The study presents a methodology developed to transform the accounting frameworks of national accounts into databases that can be consulted to determine the participation of biological resources in the generation of value at the sectoral level. The database used was elaborated by the Statistics Division of ECLAC, available in the Supply and Use Tables (COU) repository. These tables are the backbone of the SNA. The exercise was developed for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru. On average, bioeconomic products represent in the region 17.2% of production, 12.5% of imports, 24.5% of taxes on products, 18.6% of intermediate consumption, 28.6% of exports, 24.9% of household final consumption, and 3.7% of gross capital formation.