São Paulo – Brazil registered a trade surplus of USD 3.1 billion in May’s first two weeks, with eight business days. The amount is the result of USD 8,8 billion in exports and USD 5.7 billion in imports, according to data released this Monday by the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services (MDIC).
By the daily average, foreign sales climbed 23.2% over May of 2017, with an increase in exports of basic goods, semi-finished products and finished products.
The highlights in exports were crude oil, poultry, copper ore, soy beans, soy bran, crude soy bean oil, wood pulp, ferro-alloys, unwrought tin, sawn or chipped timber, aviation engines and turbines, plastic plates, sheets, strips, films and foil, frozen orange juice, polymers and cargo vehicles.
Imports, in turn, surged 30.7% in the same comparison. According to the MDIC, purchases of pharmaceuticals, mechanic equipment, electronics, fuels and lubricants, and organic and inorganic chemicals products all went up.
Year-to-date, exports reached USD 83.4 billion, with imports at USD 59.9 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of USD 23.4 billion.
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
