Brasília – The share of imported goods in the Brazilian industry was an all-time high at 21.1% in the 12-month period ended June. The figures were released this Thursday (15th) by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI). From quarter one to two, there was a 0.1 percentage point increase; the rate has increased for the 13th straight quarter, according to the CNI.
The survey, titled Coefficients of Commercial Openness, was conducted alongside the Foreign Trade Studies Centre Foundation (Funcex) and shows that the penetration coefficient of imports has increased in 12 sectors of the Brazilian processing industry, highlighting pharmaceuticals, chemicals, computing, electronics and optics.
The CNI has also reported that the “exchange rate appreciation in the past few years has kept the importing urge at bay, but the continuous increase of the import coefficient reflects the declining competitiveness of Brazilian industry in the face of foreign rivals.” To the CNI, the bullish exchange rate may cause imports to drop in the following months, and that would favour the recovery of domestic industrial production, which may ultimately reverse this trend.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
