São Paulo – Driven by good export results, Brazil’s machinery and equipment industry grossed BRL 65.1 billion (USD 16.8 billion at current exchange rate) in revenues from January to October, up 7.7% from a year ago. October saw BRL 7.2 billion (USD 1.8 billion) in revenue, up 14.4% year-on-year and 1.9% over September 2018. The numbers were made public this Tuesday (27) by the Brazilian Machinery Builders Association (Abimaq).
Abimaq notes that the result was driven by exports, which reached USD 8.1 billion through October, up 10.3% year-on-year. In October, foreign sales came out to USD 951 million, up 29.1% from September and 6% from October 2017. Top-selling items included components such as valves and pumps.
Abimaq reported that the economic crisis in Argentina caused sales to Mercosur countries to slide by 11.9% through October, while exports climbed 28.8% to the United States and 44.6% to Europe. Domestic sales were down 0.7% through October, but increased by 13.2% year-on-year in October.
Abimaq chairman João Carlos Marchesan is optimistic about the results and believes the domestic market should rebound next year. “We are witnessing a recovery, and we expect Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow by 2.5% to 3%,” he says.
Imports
Machinery and equipment imports amounted to USD 1.4 billion in October, up 23.4% from September and 23% from October 2017. Year-to-date through October, imports to Brazil reached USD 12.4 billion, up 16.4% from a year ago.
China was the leading supplier at 18.5% of total sales to Brazil, followed by the United States (17%), Germany (15.8%), Italy (7.9%), Japan (6.4%) and South Korea (2.6%).
With information from the ANBA Newsroom. Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
