São Paulo – Brazil had a USD 4.1 billion trade surplus in August, driving the year-to-date surplus up to USD 30.5 billion, the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services said this Thursday (1). The year-to-date figure is almost five times higher than in the comparable period of 2015, and the August surplus is 53.9% wider than August 2015’s.
Last month, Brazilian exports reached USD 16.9 billion, with imports at USD 12.8 billion. Average daily export numbers were up 0.2% from August 2015, but down 5% from July. Average daily imports dropped 8.3% from August 2015 and 0.2% from July 2016.
Year-on-year in August, basic goods exports from Brazil were down 9.8%, with semi-finished goods up 13.6%, and finished goods up 7.6%. Foreign sales of semi-finished goods increased the most, fueled by raw sugar, semi-finished gold, raw aluminum, timber, ferroalloys and semi-finished iron and steel products.
Finished goods exports were driven by refined sugar, cargo vehicles, aircraft, passenger cars, earthworks machinery, tractors, aluminum oxides and hydroxides, footwear, and electric motors and generators. Basic goods sales were brought down by narrowing revenues from soy, beef, poultry, crude oil, coffee bean and soy bran.
Imports by Middle East countries climbed 32.8%, including sugar, maize, soy, passenger cars, copper bars, cast iron pipes, precious and semiprecious stones, chassis, livestock, tobacco leaves and raw soy oil. Exports climbed 11.4% to the European Union and 0.4% to the Mercosur countries. Sales to all other countries went down.
Imports dropped in August due to reduced purchases of capital goods – down 31.5% –, fuels and lubricants, consumer goods and intermediate goods. The biggest suppliers were United States, China and Germany.
Year-to-date through August, exports reached USD 123.5 billion, down 3.8% from a year ago, with revenues from semi-finished goods sales increasing, and basic and finished goods revenues dropping. Imports reached USD 91.2 billion.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
