Brasília – In the first six months of 2011, Brazilian agribusiness recorded a US$ 34.7 billion trade surplus. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, which disclosed the figures this Wednesday, the figure is 20.5% higher than the surplus recorded in the same period of last year. Exports reached US$ 43.1 billion, an increase of 23.4%, and imports reached US$ 8.3 billion, a 36.8% increase.
According to the ministry, the surplus was mainly due to the increase in exports of soybean, soy oil and soy chaff, meats, sugar and ethanol, forestry products and coffee. These products combined account for 82.4% of total exports during the period, or US$ 35.5 billion.
Among the top importing countries of Brazilian agribusiness products, China remained the sole leader in the first quarter of 2011. The newcomer is Russia, which, increased its purchases by 41%, despite the embargo on dozens of Brazilian meat packing companies that began in mid-June, and surpassed the United States to rank third on the list of top importers, after the Netherlands.
In June alone, the trade surplus reached US$ 5.8 billion. Exports reached US$ 8.9 billion, a 29.1% increase over the same month of 2010, and imports reached US$ 1.3 billion, 32.5% more. Soy bean, oil and chaff were the highlight of the period, with a 46.3% increase in export value, to reach US$ 3.1 billion.
The countries whose imports from Brazil grew the most in June were Spain (148.4%), Russia (110.3%), Japan (64.3%) and Germany (58.3%). China, the leading buyer, increased its purchases by 33.7%.
In the last 12-month period, Brazilian exports reached US$ 84.6 billion, representing growth of 23.9% compared with the preceding 12 months, from July 2009 to June 2010 (US$ 68.3 billion). Imports grew by 35.7%, from US$ 11.5 billion to US$ 15.6 billion. Thus, the trade surplus reached US$ 68.9 billion.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
