São Paulo – Exports from Brazil fetched US$ 13.348 billion in February, a 4.6% increase over February 2015 based on daily averages. This was the first monthly year-on-year increment in 17 months, as well as an all-time high for a February. The numbers have been released this Tuesday (01) by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.
Imports reached USD 10.305 billion, down 34.6%, leading to a USD 3.043 billion trade surplus. In February 2015, a USD 2.84 billion deficit had been recorded. This was the first trade surplus in a February since 2012.
The ministry said exports increased for semi-finished (14%) and finished goods (7.9%), with foreign sales of basic goods dropping 0.5%. Semi-finished goods sales were driven by raw sugar, copper cathodes, wood pulp and sawed wood.
Top-selling finished goods include flexible iron and steel pipes, ethanol, orange juice, automobiles, taps and valves, cargo vehicles, plastic polymers, refined sugar, flat-rolled steel, pneumatics, land levelers and aircraft.
Revenues from basic good exports shrank as a result of smaller sales of iron ore, crude oil, coffee, poultry and soya bran. Export revenues went up for maize, soybean, raw sugar, pork, tobacco, beef and copper ore.
Regarding export destinations, sales increased to Africa (34.4%), Asia (20.5%), Central America and the Caribbean (3.5%) and the Middle East (1.5%), and decreased to Oceania, the Mercosur, the United States and the European Union.
Spending on imports declined for fuels and lubricants (-54.6%), capital goods (-33.3%), intermediate goods (-32.5%) and consumer goods (-20.5%), with the leading supplying regions buying less from Brazil.
Bimonthly results
In the first two months of this year, Brazil’s exports fetched USD 24.593 billion, down 4.7% from a year ago as per daily averages. Imports stood at USD 20.628 billion, down 35.1%, with an ensuing USD 3.965 billion surplus; in January/February 2015, Brazil had a USD 6.01 billion deficit.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum