São Paulo – In 2008, with revenues of US$ 15.7 billion, São Paulo was the Brazilian state that exported most Brazilian agribusiness chain products. With regard to the previous year, sector foreign sales of the richest state in the federation grew 8.7%.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Supply, last year São Paulo answered to 21.85% of Brazilian agribusiness foreign sales, which generated revenues of US$ 71.06 billion.
A study by the Agricultural Economics Institute of São Paulo (IEA) shows that the trade balance surplus of the state of São Paulo was 7.2% lower than that obtained in 2007. However, despite the unfavourable economic conjecture, some sectors had considerable export growth. This is the case, for example, with pork and poultry, which presented the greatest growth in the comparison between 2008 and 2007, around 49%, reaching US$ 570 million. The sugarcane sector posted 14% growth in sales.
The figures disclosed by the IEA made it clear that in agribusiness the sector that represents the highest competitiveness in São Paulo is the capital goods agroindustry (machinery) and inputs area, which registered growth of 30% in sales last year, reaching US$ 1 billion.
The institute also informs that the five main items in the agribusiness productive chain of the state of São Paulo in 2008 were sugarcane and saccharides (US$ 5.23 billion), bovids and bovines (US$ 3.34 billion), fruit (US$ 2.16 billion), forestry products (US$ 1.92 billion) and capital goods and inputs (US$ 1.01 billion). These five products represent 85.1% of São Paulo state agribusiness foreign sales.
Ranking
Apart from São Paulo, the Ministry study shows the performance of exports of other states in the federation. The state of Rio Grande do Sul, for example, was second in the ranking, with US$ 10.6 billion, registering growth of 20.45% over exports in 2007. Rio Grande do Sul represented 14.81% of foreign sales.
Paraná, which answers to 25% of national grain production, comes soon after, with US$ 10.2 billion exported in 2008, a value 30.31% greater than agribusiness sales in 2007.
Mato Grosso (US$ 7.7 billion), Minas Gerais (US$ 5.9 billion), Santa Catarina (US$ 5.1 billion), Bahia (US$ 3.3 billion), Goiás (US$ 3.1 billion), Espírito Santo (US$ 1.9 billion) and Mato Grosso do Sul (US$ 1.7 billion) complete the table of 10 states that exported most agribusiness products last year. Together, the ten units of the federation that exported most in 2008 were responsible for 91% of sector foreign sales.
Although not among the 10 states that most exported, it is worth mentioning the state of Piauí, due to the robust growth of 193.5% in exports, which rose from US$ 44 million in 2007 to US$ 129 million last year. Tocantins also registered strong growth, 93%, in foreign sales, up from US$ 154 million in 2007 to US$ 297.5 million in 2008. The Federal District, in turn, registered growth of 91% in exports in 2008, with US$ 141 million, against US$ 74 million in the previous year.
*Translated by Mark Ament
