São Paulo – Brazilian agribusiness exports grossed US$ 9.61 billion in July this year, up 3.3% July-on-July, according to information disclosed this Monday (11th) by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa, in the Portuguese acronym). Agribusiness imports have declined by 0.5%, to US$ 1.51 billion. The sector surplus stood at US$ 8.1 billion in July.<\/p>\n
According to the Mapa, soy bean, bran and oil are still the leading group of the export portfolio, accounting for 41% of the total exports. They were followed by the meat group, sugar and ethanol, forestry products and the coffee group. Combined, these five groups account for 84.5% of agribusiness exports in July. The most imported products in the month include wheat, paper and pulp, fisheries, dairy and natural rubber.<\/p>\n
China, Netherlands and the United States were the leading target markets, though the agribusiness exports to these three countries declined July-on-July. Sales to China amounted to US$ 2.4 billion, down 4.5%; to the Netherlands reached US$ 668.4 million, down 2.9%; and to the United States amounted to US$ 658.2 million, down 5.3%. Among the Arabs, Egypt was the leading agribusiness buyer in July.<\/p>\n
The North African country imported US$ 197 million in animal- and plant-based products, up 95.2% July-on-July. It was the 12th main buyer of the sector. Saudi Arabia, ranked 13th in the overall list and the second among the Arabs, purchased the equivalent to US$ 194.3 million, up 2.9%. The top 20 leading importers also features the United Arab Emirates, which imported $ 156.3 million and ranked 17th in the list of leading importers of the sector in the month, but it has also declined by 10.1% from July last year.<\/p>\n
As regards economic blocs, Asia was the leading client of the agribusiness sector. Sales to the region amounted to US$ 4.1 billion, up 6.1%. The European Union imported US$ 2.1 billion, down 5.2% from July last year. Sales to the NAFTA, bloc comprised of the United States, Canada and Mexico, amounted to US$ 802.4 million, down 9%. Sales to Middle Eastern countries amounted to US$ 633.9 million, down 2.4% from July 2013.<\/p>\n
Year-to-date, agribusiness foreign sales amounted to US$ 58.72 billion, down 0.3% from the period between January and July 2013.<\/p>\n
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça<\/strong><\/p>\n