São Paulo – Brazil and China were the only two countries out of a group of 12 which saw an increase in imports and a decline in exports in quarter two this year, compared with quarter one, according to figures released this Thursday (29th) by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). According to the survey, which measured the foreign trade performance of G7 and Brics member countries, Brazil’s imports grew by 0.2% and exports dropped by 4.6%. In China, imports were up 1.4% and exports were down 3.4%.
According to the survey, Brazil imported the equivalent of US$ 62.9 billion in quarter two. In quarter one, the country imported US$ 62.7 billion worth of products. Exports, which had amounted to US$ 89.8 billion in quarter one, dropped to US$ 85.6 billion in quarter two this year.
China imported US$ 485.5 billion in quarter two and US$ 478.7 billion in quarter one. China exported US$ 539.6 billion in quarter two, as against US$ 558.8 billion in quarter one.
Both imports and exports for all surveyed countries combined, however, saw decline in quarter two. The G7 comprises the world’s most developed economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and United States. The Brics, a bloc of emerging countries, is composed of Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa.
According to the OECD, the 12 countries’ combined quarter two imports were down 1.4% from quarter one. Combined exports were down 1.8%. In quarter two, the 12 countries imported a combined US$ 2.39 trillion. In quarter one, imports had stood at US$ 2.42 trillion. Exports stood at US$ 2.27 trillion in quarter two, as against US$ 2.31 trillion in quarter one.
In most of the countries surveyed, both imports and exports dropped during the period. Such was the case with Germany, which saw a 1.5% decline in imports and a 2% decline in exports; France (down 3.1% and 0.5%, respectively); Italy (down 3.8% and 3.1%), Japan (3% and 0.4%), Canada (1.1% and 0.3%), Russia (4.6% and 1.8%) and India (4.5% and 8.1%).
South Africa and United States, on the other hand, were the only countries which saw exports go up and imports go down in quarter two. United States’ exports were up 0.5% and imports were down 1.7%. South Africa’s exports were up 3.8% and imports were down 2.9%. The United Kingdom was the only country in which both imports and exports rose, by 0.1% and 1.4%, respectively.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
