São Paulo – Brazilian trading companies’ exports declined year-to-date through September this year, according to figures from the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. Export revenues amounted to US$ 17.6 billion year-to-date through September 2013, as against US$ 18.4 billion in the same period last year. The rate of decline is 4.6%. In September alone, sales were down as well – from US$ 2.1 billion in 2012 to US$ 1.9 billion this in September this year.
Trading companies’ exports accounted for 9.9% of total exports from Brazil year-to-date through September this year, which amounted to US$ 177.6 billion. China was the leading export target for Brazilian trading companies, at US$ 7.5 billion, 42.8% of overall foreign sales. Next on the list are Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Taiwan and Oman. The latter was the sole Arab country among the ten leading export targets, having imported US$ 306.5 million worth of products, especially ores.
Up until September, trading companies’ exports consisted mostly of basic goods, which accounted for 88.8% of total export revenues. Manufactured goods accounted for 8.2% of exports and semi-manufactured goods accounted for 3%. The main basic goods exported via trading companies were iron ore, at US$ 10 billion, soya bean, at US$ 3.4 billion, maize, at US$ 908.4 million, soya bran, at US$ 490.9 million, and poultry, at US$ 221.8 million.
Apart from importing ore via Brazilian trading companies, Oman purchased other items, such as canned chicken meat, maize, chicken meat preparations and preserves, encased meats, and offal. Apart from Oman, Saudi Arabia ranked 17th in the ranking of leading importers.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum