São Paulo – Brazilian trade balance posted a surplus of US$ 712 million in May. The figures are 6.7% below the obtained in the same month in 2013. Last month, Brazilian exports amounted to US$ 20.752 billion, down 4.9% from May last year and up 0.2% from April this year. The information was released this Monday (2nd) by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC).
Basic goods exports reached US$ 11.387 billion, down 1% from May last year. There was a decline in the sales of leaf tobacco, iron ore and poultry. On the other hand, there was an increase of copper ore, crude oil, coffee beans and beef.
The sales of manufactured dropped by 9.7% against May 2013, amounting to $ 6.676 billion. The country has exported less refined sugar, cars, car parts and cargo vehicles, among other items. There was, however, a drop in sales of cast iron tubes, pumps and compressor, engines and electric generators.
Semi-manufactured products showed the sharpest decline in comparison to May 2013, down 11,1%, reaching US$ 2.194 billion. The decline was driven mostly by the smaller sales of raw aluminium, semi-manufactured gold, raw sugar, among other items. On the other hand, there was an increase in exports of leather and hides, and wood pulp.
Middle East was the block which showed the second sharpest decline in Brazilian exports, down 11.9% in sales in comparison to May 2013, driven mainly by the reduction in sales of earth leveling machines, leaf tobacco, grain maize, raw and refined sugar, poultry, coffee beans and soy bran. The block with the sharpest decline in Brazilian exports last Month was Africa, down 19.1%.
Brazilian imports in the period stood at US$ 20.040 billion, down 4.8% from the same period last year and 0.7% in the comparison with April this year.
Between January and May this year, exports amounted to a total of US$ 90.064 billion. In the comparison with the same period in 2013, exports had a decline of 2.5%.
The imports of the first five months of the year amounted to US$ 94.918 billion, a decline of 2.9% over the same period last year.
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça
