São Paulo – Exports from Brazil amounted to US$ 14.241 billion in the first three weeks of July, averaging at US$ 1.017 billion per day, up 12.4% from the average in the same period of July last year. The figures have been released this Monday (21st) by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.<\/p>\n
Basic goods exports were up 20.4%, especially crude oil, coffee, livestock, beef, pork and poultry, and soy. Semi-manufactured goods exports were up 6.85 driven by iron and steel, cast iron, ferroalloys, crude soy oil and leather. <\/p>\n
Manufactured goods exports were up 4.5% highlighting oil and gas rigs, cast iron pipes, plastic polymers, engines and generators, refined sugar and orange juice. Although oil rig sales are not actual exports, they are counted as such. The reason is that Petrobras uses rigs which it orders domestically, in Brazil, but the purchase is made via one of the company’s subsidiaries abroad.<\/p>\n
In the first three weeks of July, imports amounted to US$ 13.744 billion, averaging at US$ 981.7 million on average per working day, down 0.6% from the same period in July 2013. Imports declined for autos and auto parts (15.9%), home appliances (14.8%), mechanical equipment (11.4%), rubber and rubber items (11.4%) and steel and iron products (10.2%).<\/p>\n
The balance of date is running a US$ 497 million surplus month-to-date. This shows that the deficit on the second and third week were not high enough to offset the surplus recorded in the first week of the month.<\/p>\n
Last week alone, exports from Brazil fetched a combined US$ 5.138 billion, up 1.7% from the first two weeks of July based on daily average figures. Manufactured goods sales were up 55.7%, especially oil rigs, cast iron pipes, auto parts, engines for vehicles and land levelling machinery. <\/p>\n
Basic goods exports, however, were down 22.7% due to a decline in exports of crude oil, soy, iron ore, beef and tobacco leaves. Semi-manufactured goods exports were down 15.8% due to lower sales of pulp, raw sugar, leather and semi-manufactured iron and steel. <\/p>\n
Imports amounted to US$ 5.69 billion last week, up 27.2% from the first two weeks of July based on daily average figures. Imports increased for fuels and lubricants, mechanical equipment, autos and auto parts, chemicals and fertilizers. The trade balance posted a US$ 552 million deficit. <\/p>\n
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum<\/strong><\/p>\n