São Paulo – Brazilian agribusiness exports grossed US$ 9.61 billion in July this year, up 3.3% July-on-July, according to information disclosed this Monday (11th) by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa, in the Portuguese acronym). Agribusiness imports have declined by 0.5%, to US$ 1.51 billion. The sector surplus stood at US$ 8.1 billion in July.
According to the Mapa, soy bean, bran and oil are still the leading group of the export portfolio, accounting for 41% of the total exports. They were followed by the meat group, sugar and ethanol, forestry products and the coffee group. Combined, these five groups account for 84.5% of agribusiness exports in July. The most imported products in the month include wheat, paper and pulp, fisheries, dairy and natural rubber.
China, Netherlands and the United States were the leading target markets, though the agribusiness exports to these three countries declined July-on-July. Sales to China amounted to US$ 2.4 billion, down 4.5%; to the Netherlands reached US$ 668.4 million, down 2.9%; and to the United States amounted to US$ 658.2 million, down 5.3%. Among the Arabs, Egypt was the leading agribusiness buyer in July.
The North African country imported US$ 197 million in animal- and plant-based products, up 95.2% July-on-July. It was the 12th main buyer of the sector. Saudi Arabia, ranked 13th in the overall list and the second among the Arabs, purchased the equivalent to US$ 194.3 million, up 2.9%. The top 20 leading importers also features the United Arab Emirates, which imported $ 156.3 million and ranked 17th in the list of leading importers of the sector in the month, but it has also declined by 10.1% from July last year.
As regards economic blocs, Asia was the leading client of the agribusiness sector. Sales to the region amounted to US$ 4.1 billion, up 6.1%. The European Union imported US$ 2.1 billion, down 5.2% from July last year. Sales to the NAFTA, bloc comprised of the United States, Canada and Mexico, amounted to US$ 802.4 million, down 9%. Sales to Middle Eastern countries amounted to US$ 633.9 million, down 2.4% from July 2013.
Year-to-date, agribusiness foreign sales amounted to US$ 58.72 billion, down 0.3% from the period between January and July 2013.
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça
