São Paulo – Brazil’s trade surplus set a new record in 2023. According to data released this Friday afternoon (5) by the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, in 2023, Brazil exported USD 339.7 billion and imported USD 240.8 billion, with a surplus of USD 98.8 billion. The 2023 surplus was 60.6% higher than 2022’s – USD 61.5 billion. Pictured above, cargo loading at the Paranaguá Port in Paraná.
Data was presented by the Brazilian vice-president and minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, Geraldo Alckmin, who highlighted the increase in international shipments both in terms of revenue and volume and the drop in imports, such as fertilizers and diesel.
Alckmin said that in 2023, Brazil had record-breaking exports to China, Indonesia, Mexico, Vietnam, Uruguay, and Paraguay, with sales to China exceeding USD 100 billion for the first time. It was the first time a country imported more than USD 100 billion from Brazil in a year. Among the products with record highs were soybean, sugar, maize, beef, and mining machinery, said Alckmin.
“Even with the drop in commodity prices and lower growth in the world economy, Brazil expanded the volume of exports and the export revenue. We had an expansion ten times greater than the world average – which was at 0.8% – and Brazil [had an export volume] 8.7% higher,” said the vice president and minister. The government expects to export USD 348 billion this year.
The Ministry’s secretary of Foreign Trade, Tatiana Prazeres, highlighted sales to several destinations increased, emphasizing China, the United States, and Mexico. She also pointed out that price drops in products imported by Brazil, such as fertilizers, contributed to the expansion of the surplus. The trade flow – the sum of imports and exports – reached USD 580.5 billion last year.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
