São Paulo – Following a deficit in April, Brazil’s trade balance posted a surplus in early May. According to figures released this Monday (6th) by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, in the first week of the month, which had two business days, the balance of trade showed a US$ 409 million surplus. Exports stood at US$ 2.31 billion, up 9.5% from the same period last year, based on daily average figures. Imports amounted to US$ 1.901 billion, up 3.3%.
Manufactured goods exports were up 21.8% from May 2012 and basic goods exports were up 13.4%. The highlights among the former were autos and auto parts, non-frozen orange juice, ethanol, tractors and hydrocarbons. As for basic goods, shipments of soy bran, iron ore, beef and pork, and soybean increased.
Semi-manufactured goods sales were down 33.8% from May last year due to a decline in shipments of cast iron, raw soy oil, raw sugar, and semi-manufactured iron and steel products.
Manufactured goods exports were up 31.5% from April 2013, based on daily average figures, and basic goods exports were up 28.4%. Semi-manufactured goods exports were down 19.4%.
Imports of consumer electronics, fertilizers, plastics and their works, optics and precision instruments, and autos and their parts were up from May 2012 based on daily average figures. Imports were down 3.3% from April 2013.
Deficit
Year-to-date through the first week of May, Brazilian exports have amounted to US$ 73.778 billion, down 3.6% from the same period last year based on daily average figures. The country imported the equivalent of US$ 79.519 billion, up 9.2%. During that period, Brazil has incurred a US$ 5.741 billion trade deficit.
Last month, despite having exported the equivalent of US$ 20.6 billion, the country imported US$ 21.6 billion and posted the worst-ever result for the month of April. The government ascribed that to the fact that oil imports made by Petrobras in 2012 were only computed this year.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
