Brasília – Brazilian agribusiness exports fetched US$ 8.4 billion in May, a 17.5% increase over the same month of 2010. Although the surplus also grew by over 10%, having reached US$ 6.9 billion, the highest rate of growth, at 53.8%, was the import volume, which went from US$ 1 billion to roughly US$ 1.5 billion.
According to the figures published this Friday (10th) by the Ministry of Agriculture, the main import items were forestry products (US$ 302 million), grain, flours and concoctions (US$ 270 million) and fibre and textiles (US$ 215 million). in comparison with May of last year, purchases of these products grew by 28.5%, 23.5% and 134.6%, respectively. Combined, they represented for approximately 50% of Brazilian agricultural imports. Purchases of meats (US$ 38 million) and dairy products (US$ 50 million) grew by 116.7% and 95.7%.
Over the last 12-month period, Brazilian bilateral trade in agriculture and livestock reached US$ 82.6 billion. Regarding the income of growers and breeders, the director of the Agribusiness International Promotion Department at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Marcelo Junqueira, claimed that “even though the real (Brazilian currency) is strongly appreciated, growers have been rewarded with the appreciation, in dollar, of the agribusiness products’ prices, which enabled good gains in this crop.”
The most exported products in May were soy (US$ 3.37 billion), which grew by 27% compared with May of last year, and meats (US$ 1.37 billion), which grew by 14%. The volume of soybean and meat shipped dropped in the comparison between the two periods, but the significant price hike was responsible for the increased revenues.
The countries whose imports of Brazilian agribusiness products grew the most in May 2011, compared with the same month of last year, were Thailand (276%), Spain (99%), Saudi Arabia (67%), Algeria (45 %), Japan (44%) and Germany (41%).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
