São Paulo – Brazilian agribusiness exports amounted to US$ 95.81 billion last year, up 1% from 2011, according to figures released this Thursday (10th) by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply. The figure is an all-time high.
Despite the low growth rate, the sector’s performance was superior to that of overall Brazilian exports, which were down 5.3% in 2012 from the preceding year.
“The figures attest to the strength of Brazilian agribusiness. The country is becoming more competitive internationally, and we will keep working alongside the farmers to seek new markets,” said the minister of Agriculture, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, according to a press release from the ministry.
Performance was strongly influenced by the 8.6% increase in volume shipped, considering that product price was down by 7.1% on average during the year. According to the ministry, the international economic crisis drove prices downward.
Products whose exports increased the most were the so-called ‘soy complex’ (bean, bran and oil); tobacco and its products; cereals, flours and preparations, highlighting maize; fibres and textiles; and livestock. Revenues from maize exports were up 101.5% to US$ 5.29 billion, but the top-selling products were those of the soy complex (US$ 26.11 billion).
Regarding foods of animal origin, beef sales amounted to US$ 5.35 billion, up 7.39% from 2011. The figure was an all-time high. Reflecting the sector’s trend, the volume shipped increased in spite of average prices. Poultry exports, however, were down 5.4% to US$ 7.2 billion.
As for sugar and ethanol, exports of the latter reached US$ 2.2 billion, up 46.5% from 2011. Sugar exports, however, were down 14% to US$ 12.8 billion.
Brazil’s leading export targets were China, United States, Netherlands, Japan and Germany. Exports to Asian countries saw the highest increase. The ministry also highlighted an increase in sales to Egypt (13%), United Arab Emirates (8%) and Saudi Arabia (0.1%).
Coffee
This Thursday, the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé) released its annual export overview. Last year, export revenues reached US$ 6.353 billion, down 27.1% from 2011. In this case, there was a decline in both price and volume shipped. A total of 28.3 million 60-kilogram bags of coffee were shipped, down 15.5% from 2011.
Still, the Cecafé considered the result positive, according to a press release. “The decline in export volume is largely justified by rains in producing regions, which caused a delay in harvesting,” said the Cecafé director general, Guilherme Braga, according to the release. “The decreased volume impacted revenues, which also suffered from a decline in prices, reflected in the variations in average price,” he said. He added, however, that the performance in December was near-normal at 2.9 million bags shipped.
In 2013, Braga is betting on 30 million to 31 million bags exported, which would translate into a 7% to 10% increase over 2012. Revenues, according to him, should range from US$ 6.7 billion to US$ 7 billion. Braga believes average prices will see a moderate increase.
Coffee exports to Arab countries amounted to 1.1 million bags in 2012, down 12% from 2011. Revenues were down 15% to US$ 210.8 million.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
