Brasília – The increase in imports, outpacing exports, drove down the trade surplus in the first six months. According to the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services (MDIC), Brazil exported USD 30.055 billion more than what it imported in the year’s first six months. The surplus declined 17% over the same period of last year. Despite the decrease, it was the second-best result ever for the first six months.
Imports totaled USD 83.779 billion in the year’s first six months, up 17.2%, by the daily’s average, over the same period of 2017. The rise, according to the MDIC, occurred due to the economy’s recovery, which boosted foreign purchases, mainly of capital goods.
Exports also rose, but at a slower pace. In the first six months, the country sold abroad USD 113.834 worth of products, up 5.7%, by the daily average, over the same period of last year. According to the MDIC, shipments of iron ore, soy beans, soy bran and wood pulp were record high.
In the first six months, the average price of goods exported rose 3.63%, with the highlight being wood pulp (+28.4%), crude oil (+28.1%) and iron and steel semi-finished products (+27.9%). The volume exported rose 1.82%. In comparison to imports, average prices rose 5.46%, and volume purchased rose 11.41%.
In June, Brazil’s exports surpassed imports in USD 5.882 billion, the result of USD 20.202 billion in exports and USD 14.31 billion in imports. By the business day average, exports rose 2.1% in comparison to June 2017, and imports went up 13.7%. Despite the 18.1% drop of the surplus over the same month of last year, the amount is the second-best for the month.
The MDIC’s expecting a surplus of USD 50 billion this year. According to the Focus Bulletin, a weekly poll with financial institutions conducted by the Brazilian Central Bank (BC), market analysts forecasted a surplus of USD 58.28 billion for 2018.
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
