São Paulo – In the first week of May, exports from Brazil reached USD 3.582 billion, averaging USD 895.6 million a day in four business days. The result is up 7% from a year ago, the Brazilian Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services reported this Monday (8).
Imports amounted to USD 2.586 billion, yielding a USD 997 million surplus. The year-to-date surplus is USD 22.367 billion, with exports at USD 71.722 billion and imports adding up to USD 49.355 billion.
The Ministry reported that basic goods exports increased by 17.1%, with strong sales of iron ore, soybeans, copper ore, maize, poultry and pork. Semi-finished goods exports were up 11.9%, driven by wood pulp, semi-finished iron and steel products, ferroalloys, leather and hides, and timber.
Finished goods exports were down 6.8%, and top-selling items were aircraft, flexible iron and steel tubes, taps and valves, ethanol, non-frozen orange juice and gasoline.
Average daily exports slid by 8.9% compared with the first week of April, with sales going down 13.7% for finished goods, 7.5% for basic goods, and 3.6% for semi-finished goods.
Average daily imports were up 21.9% to USD 646.4 million year-on-year. Spending went up on beverages and alcohol, cereals and milling industry products, fuel and lubricants, iron and steel, and customer electronics.
Compared with the first week of April, imports were up 8.6% on the back of stronger purchases of beverages and alcohol, iron and steel products, cereals and milling industry products, organic and inorganic chemicals, and mechanical equipment.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
