São Paulo – In February this year, the Brazilian trade balance reached its highest surplus for the month since 2009, reverting the deficit that was registered in January, the worst since 1973, when the results started being recorded. According to figures disclosed on Thursday (1) by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, the balance accumulated in the year is US$ 423 million. In the first two months, exports totalled a record US$ 34.169 billion. Imports also reached record figures, at US$ 33,746.
In the 19 working days of February, the country exported US$ 18.028 billion, imported US$ 16.313 billion and generated a surplus of US$ 1.715 billion, 43.6 % greater than that registered in the same month in 2011, according to the Ministry. In 2009, the February surplus reached US$ 1.8 billion. In the 22 working days of January, in turn, the deficit was US$ 1.291 billion, as Brazil exported US$ 16.142 billion and imported US$ 17.433 billion.
At the time, the Foreign Trade secretary at the Ministry, Tatiana Prazeres, stated that the January deficit should not affect the forecast of ending the year with a positive trade balance result. She recalled that in January 2009 and 2010 there was also a deficit, but that in the accumulated result for those years, the country ended with surpluses.
According to the ministry, in February, three product groups registered surpluses in sales in the month. Manufactured products generated US$ 7.456 billion, 18% more in the daily average than in February 2011; partly manufactured products generated US$ 2.705 billion (25.2% more) and basic products, US$ 7.455 billion (growth of 6.6%).
Among the manufactured products, the greatest growth was in unfrozen orange juice, which sold 274.3% more than in February 2011 and totalled US$ 128 million. Among the partly manufactured products, exports of iron and steel grew 98.8% to reach US$ 474 million. In basic products, soy in grain totalled US$ 715 million in shipments abroad in February, growth of 578% over the same period in 2011.
The countries that bought most from Brazil in February were the United States (US$ 2.264 billion), China (US$ 2.176 billion), Argentina (US$ 1.702 billion), the Netherlands (US$ 1.450 billion) and Germany (US$ 582 million).
On the other side, the imported product categories that grew most in February, as against the same month in 2011, were capital goods (growth of 18.6%), consumer goods (14.2%), raw and intermediate materials (7.3%) and fuels and lubricants (4.1%).
China was Brazil’s main supplier, with sales of US$ 2.641 billion. It was followed by the United States (US$ 2.368 billion), Germany (US$ 1.124 billion), Argentina (US$ 947 million) and South Korea (US$ 779 million).
Middle East and Africa
Sales from Brazil to the Middle East dropped in February 2012 as against January this year and February 2011. According to the ministry figures, Brazil exported US$ 664 million in February 2012, 14% less than the US$ 813 million exported one year before. In January 2011, Brazil shipped US$ 738 million in products to the Middle East.
Sales to Africa, in turn, grew: in February 2012, Brazil exported the equivalent to US$ 878 million to the region, 19.1% more than the US$ 776 million in February 2011. In general, the Middle East answered to 3.7% of Brazilian exports. Africa purchased 4.9% of all Brazil sold.
*Translated by Mark Ament
