São Paulo – The Brazilian trade balance started 2015 in deficit. The negative result recorded in the first two weeks of the year amounted to US$ 983 million, according to data from the period released this Monday (12) by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC).
In a press release, MDIC stated that in the first two weeks of the month, corresponding to six business days, Brazil exported US$ 3.854 billion and imported US$ 4.837 billion. Considering the daily average, Brazil exported US$ 642.3 million in the first two weeks of the year, an 11.8% drop in comparison to the US$ 728.5 million exported daily in January 2014. The shipment reduction, says MDIC, was the result of a decrease of 33.2% in shipment of manufactured products and of 2.5% of commodities, while with the semi-manufactured, there was a 12.4% increase.
Among the manufactured products, there was a drop of shipments of cast iron pipes, passenger cars, vehicle engines and its components, auto parts, electric generators and engines, ethanol, freight vehicles, shoes, aircraft and fuel oils. Among commodities, trade decreased with iron ore, pork, rice as grain, leaf tobacco, salted meat, beef, turkey meat and soybean as grain. The increase in semi-manufactured sales was driven by crude dendê palm oil, gold in semi-manufactured form, semi-manufactured steel and iron, crude soybean oil and cast iron.
Imports also decreased. According to MDIC’s data, imports in the first two weeks of January presented a daily average of US$ 806.2 million, 11.7% less than the US$ 913.4 million imported daily in January 2014.
The imports reduction was caused, mainly, by the drop in purchases with the following percentages: 51.8% in fuel and lubricants; 28.4% in composites and fertilizers; 23.7% in auto and auto parts; 20.3% in mechanical equipment; 19.4% in pharmaceuticals products; 16.1% in rubber and rubber articles; and 14.2% in electrical and electronic equipment.
*Translated By Sérgio Kakitani
