Brasília – Of the 5,563 Brazilian cities, 2,335 operated in foreign trade in 2008 and ten answered to 26% (US$ 51.493 billion) of all exports of Brazil, which totalled US$ 197.942 billion. These sales guaranteed a trade surplus of US$ 24.745 billion to the country, due to expenses of US$ 173.196 with imports of foreign products.
According to a trade analysis per city, disclosed yesterday (15) by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, the city of São Paulo showed again, in 2008, that it is the city that exports most in the country, with US$ 9.967 billion being shipped abroad last year.
The state of São Paulo had another three cities among the ten main exporters: São José dos Campos sold US$ 6.965 billion, São Bernardo do Campo exported US$ 4.641 billion and the port city of Santos shipped abroad US$ 3.905 billion – the cities were respectively in the second, fourth and seventh places in the Ministry ranking.
The third main exporter in the country in 2008 was Angra dos Reis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, with shipments of US$ 6.656 billion. Macaé, in the north of the state, was in the fifth position, with sales of US$ 4.474 billion, and the city of Rio de Janeiro was in the ninth position, with shipments of goods totalling US$ 3.558 billion.
The sixth position went to the city of Paranaguá, in the state of Paraná, which is the second main export hub in the country, with shipments of US$ 4.053 billion. The eighth main exporter was Parauapebas (in the state of Pará), from where mining company Vale do Rio Doce shipped abroad US$ 3.836 billion in ores. The tenth city in the list is the city of Itabira (in Minas Gerais), with foreign sales of US$ 3.438 billion, also due to Vale.
*Translated by Mark Ament