Subheading 9018.32 · Precision instruments

Medical, surgical instruments and appliances; tubular metal needles and needles for sutures

In the Arancel: Instrumentos y aparatos de medicina, cirugía, odontología o veterinaria, incluidos los de centellografía y demás aparatos electromédicos, así como los aparatos para pruebas visuales › Jeringas, agujas, catéteres, cánulas e instrumentos similares › Agujas tubulares de metal y agujas de sutura

In January–July 2026, Chile exported US$ 16 thousand of this product, less than 0.1% of everything it exported. The main destination was Argentina (39%), and the main region of origin, Metropolitana (39%). It imported US$ 8.6 million, 19% less than in the same months of 2025, mostly from United States (21%).

Servicio Nacional de Aduanas · How it is measured

US$ 16 thousand
exported, January–July 2026
US$ 8.6 M
imported, January–July 2026 · −19% vs January–July 2025
<0.1%
of everything Chile exported · <0.1% of imports

Month by month

January 2025–August 2026
0123US$ MJan2025FebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovs/dDecJan2026FebMarAprMayJunJuls/dAug
0123US$ MJ2025FMAMJJASON·DJ2026FMAMJJ·A
ExportsImportsshaded: the months the figures above are read over

«s/d» is a month the Aduanas database does not carry, not a month without trade.

What is inside

January–July 2026

What is exported, by tariff line

Precision instruments 100%Agujas tubulares de metal99%
Precision instruments 100%Agujas tubulares de metal99%

What is imported, by tariff line

Precision instruments 100%Agujas tubulares de metal96%Agujasdesutura4.0%
Precision instruments 100%Agujas tubulares de metal96%

With which countries

January–July 2026

Each line joins the start and a country this was sold to; it is a relationship, not a route.

Each line arrives from the country where the goods were made; it is a relationship, not a route. The other countries, pooled, and the codes that are not a country (free zones, ship stores) add up to US$ 1.6 million and have no line.

Where exports go

  1. ArgentinaUS$ 6 thousand39%
  2. Costa RicaUS$ 6 thousand39%
  3. UruguayUS$ 3 thousand17%
  4. PeruUS$ 6283.9%
  5. NetherlandsUS$ 1400.9%

Where imports come from

  1. United StatesUS$ 1.8 million21%
  2. ChinaUS$ 1.3 million15%
  3. JapanUS$ 1.2 million13%
  4. Origins or destinations withheld for commercial or military reasonsUS$ 861 thousand10.0%
  5. ItalyUS$ 542 thousand6.3%
  6. GermanyUS$ 513 thousand5.9%
  7. MexicoUS$ 475 thousand5.5%
  8. United KingdomUS$ 364 thousand4.2%
  9. NetherlandsUS$ 251 thousand2.9%
  10. FranceUS$ 250 thousand2.9%
  11. South KoreaUS$ 204 thousand2.4%
  12. TaiwanUS$ 197 thousand2.3%
  13. OthersUS$ 740 thousand8.6%

From which region

exports · January–July 2026
  1. Nationalised foreign goodsUS$ 9 thousand56%
  2. MetropolitanaUS$ 6 thousand39%
  3. No region declaredUS$ 7684.7%

The region the declaration names as the origin of the exports. An import declares no region.

Where it leaves and lands

January–July 2026
Port or crossingComunaLoaded (exports)%Unloaded (imports)%
ValparaísoValparaíso——US$ 2.9 million34%
San AntonioSan Antonio——US$ 2.9 million34%
Aeropuerto A.M. BenitezPudahuelUS$ 15 thousand91%US$ 2.7 million31%
Los LibertadoresLos AndesUS$ 1 thousand8.6%US$ 54 thousand0.6%
LirquénPenco——US$ 23 thousand0.3%
IquiqueIquique——US$ 14 thousand0.2%
AntofagastaAntofagasta——US$ 4 thousand<0.1%
CoronelCoronel——US$ 3 thousand<0.1%
Other ports——US$ 2 thousand<0.1%

The Chilean port where the exports were loaded and the imports unloaded: where the cargo passes, which is not always the office that processes it. The eight largest are named; the rest are in «other ports». Every port →

Exports, by transport

  1. AirUS$ 13 thousand78%
  2. Courier (air)US$ 2 thousand13%
  3. RoadUS$ 1 thousand8.6%

Imports, by transport

  1. Sea, river and lakeUS$ 5.9 million68%
  2. AirUS$ 2.0 million23%
  3. Courier (air)US$ 705 thousand8.2%
  4. RoadUS$ 73 thousand0.8%

Who processes it

January–July 2026
Customs officeRegion of its seatExports%Imports%
ValparaísoValparaíso——US$ 2.9 million34%
San AntonioValparaíso——US$ 2.9 million34%
MetropolitanaMetropolitanaUS$ 15 thousand91%US$ 2.7 million31%
Los AndesValparaísoUS$ 1 thousand8.6%US$ 54 thousand0.6%
TalcahuanoBiobío——US$ 29 thousand0.3%
IquiqueTarapacá——US$ 14 thousand0.2%
Puerto MonttLos Lagos——US$ 10 thousand0.1%
AntofagastaAntofagasta——US$ 4 thousand0.1%

The office is the branch of the Service that processed the declaration. An import is counted at the office that clears it.

From where to where

January–July 2026

What leaves: region of origin, customs office, destination

Region of originCustoms officeDestinationNationalised foreign goodsUS$ 9 thousand · 56%MetropolitanaUS$ 6 thousand · 39%No region declaredUS$ 768 · 4.7%Los AndesUS$ 1 thousand · 8.6%MetropolitanaUS$ 15 thousand · 91%UruguayUS$ 3 thousand · 17%ArgentinaUS$ 6 thousand · 39%Costa RicaUS$ 6 thousand · 39%PeruUS$ 628 · 3.9%NetherlandsUS$ 140 · 0.9%
Region of originCustoms officeDestinationNationalis…56%Metropolit…39%No region …4.7%Los A…8.6%Metro…91%Uruguay17%Argentina39%Costa Rica39%Peru3.9%Netherlands0.9%

What comes in: origin, transport, customs office

OriginTransportCustoms officeUnited StatesUS$ 1.8 million · 21%ChinaUS$ 1.3 million · 15%JapanUS$ 1.2 million · 13%Origins or destinations w…US$ 861 thousand · 10.0%ItalyUS$ 542 thousand · 6.3%GermanyUS$ 513 thousand · 5.9%OthersUS$ 2.5 million · 29%AirUS$ 2.0 million · 23%Sea, river and lakeUS$ 5.9 million · 68%Courier (air)US$ 705 thousand · 8.2%RoadUS$ 73 thousand · 0.8%MetropolitanaUS$ 2.7 million · 31%ValparaísoUS$ 2.9 million · 34%San AntonioUS$ 2.9 million · 34%Los AndesUS$ 54 thousand · 0.6%Other officesUS$ 57 thousand · 0.7%
OriginTransportCustoms officeUnited Sta…21%China15%Japan13%Origins or…10.0%Italy6.3%Germany5.9%Others29%Air23%Sea, …68%Couri…8.2%Road0.8%Metropolit…31%Valparaíso34%San Antonio34%Los Andes0.6%Other offi…0.7%

Every column adds up to the same total; the largest are named and the rest pooled into «others». Hover a ribbon to see how much it carries.

Its 2 tariff lines

change against January–July 2025
CodeDescriptionExportschangeImportschange
9018.3210Agujas tubulares de metalUS$ 16 thousandUS$ 8.3 million−19%
9018.3220Agujas de suturaUS$ 140US$ 346 thousand

A change is shown only where the same months of the year before added up to at least US$ 1.0 million.

How it is measured

Where the figures come from
Every export and import declaration the Servicio Nacional de Aduanas processed since January 2025, added up as Aduanas publishes them in its open databases. Nothing is estimated. They are amounts of trade, not PuroChile indicators, and they are never divided by census figures.
FOB and CIF
Exports are valued FOB («free on board»): what the goods are worth loaded on the ship, plane or truck that takes them out of Chile. Imports are valued CIF («cost, insurance and freight»): what they are worth on arrival in Chile, with insurance and freight paid. That is how Aduanas publishes them. So «exports less imports» is not the Central Bank's trade balance, which values imports without insurance or freight.
Which months
The figures at the top add up January–July 2026: the months of this year both databases already carry, against the same months of 2025. Aduanas replaces the running year's database every month, so this year's months can still be corrected. «s/d» on a chart is a month the database does not carry — not a month without trade.
Changes
A change is shown only where the same months of the year before added up to at least US$ 1.0 million.
The codes
Aduanas classifies every good with a code of the Arancel Aduanero, which is the international Harmonized System with two Chilean digits added: 2 digits are the chapter (74, copper), 4 the heading (74.03, refined copper), 6 the subheading (7403.11, cathodes) and 8 Chile's own tariff line. Names are the Arancel's; in English, the Harmonized System 2022's. Chile's Section 0 and its 8-digit lines have no English text and are shown in Spanish.
Port and customs office
The port is where the cargo physically passes: loaded for an export, unloaded for an import. The customs office is the branch of the Service that processes the declaration. They are not always the same place: the Aduana de Antofagasta processes what is loaded at Mejillones.
What is not here
Customs agents: every declaration names the agent who filed it, but Aduanas's open databases leave that field out, and PuroChile does not estimate it.
A month at zero
A month with no bar is one in which nothing was declared under this code; «s/d» is one the database does not carry.
Tariff lines
The 8-digit lines are Chile's own: the Harmonized System stops at the subheading and each country opens its own lines below it. They have no English text, so they are named in the Arancel's Spanish.

Source: Servicio Nacional de Aduanas · How each figure is checked →