São Paulo – The Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade informed on Tuesday (13) that Brazilian cooperative exports grew 21.1% in the first two months of 2012, as against the same period in 2011, to reach US$ 764.1 million, a record figure for the first two months of the year.
According to the ministry, 99 companies in the sector exported in January and February, mainly agribusiness products. The items with the greatest weight in the basket in the period were refined sugar, with US$ 125.5 million exported, soy chaff (US$ 91.7 million), chicken (US$ 87.6 million) and soy in grain (US$ 64.6 million).
Among the shipments that grew most, according to the ministry, are rice, cotton lint, maize for sowing, frozen orange juice and tin, which is a metallic ore, not an agricultural product.
Cooperatives export to 105 countries, with the main destinations in the first two months being the United States, China, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. Paraná was the main supplier, followed by São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.
On the other route, cooperatives import the equivalent to US$ 35.06 million, 0.2% less than in the same period last year. Most of the imports of these companies are agricultural inputs. The sector trade surplus was US$ 729 million, also record for the period.
*Translated by Mark Ament
