The diversification of exports to Asia and Europe offset the pricing effects of the United States, three months after the Donald Trump government’s trade retaliation. Brazil’s sales abroad grew 9.1% in October compared to the same month last year, breaking a record for the month since the beginning of the historical series, in 1989.
The growth occurred despite the sharp 37.9% drop in sales to the United States. The data was released this Thursday (6) by the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (Mdic).
According to the survey, exports totaled US$31.97 billion last month, while imports reached US$25.01 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of US$6.96 billion.
>> Follow the channel Brazil Agency on WhatsApp
The decline in exports to the United States, impacted by tariffs implemented by the North American government, led to a 24.1% drop in sales to North America. This was the only region with a reduction in exports in October.
The main factor in the decline in sales to North America was the 82.6% drop in oil shipments, equivalent to a loss of US$500 million. Sales of cellulose (43.9%), fuel oils (37.7%) and aircraft and parts (19.8%) also fell.
“Even products that were not taxed, such as fuel oil and cellulose, suffered a decline”, informed the director of Statistics and Foreign Trade Studies at Mdic, Herlon Brandão.
Other markets
The decline in exports to the United States was offset by an increase in sales to other regions, especially Asia, which increased by 21.2%, driven by China (33.4%), India (55.5%), Singapore (29.2%) and the Philippines (22.4%).
Among the products, the highlights were the increases in exports of soybeans (64.5%), crude petroleum oils (43%), iron ore (31.7%) and beef (44.7%).
In Europe, sales grew 7.6%, with strong growth in copper ores (823.6%), beef (73.4%) and cellulose (46.8%). South America registered an increase of 12.6%, driven by shipments of crude petroleum oil (141.1%).
According to Brandão, Brazilian exports to the United States have registered a constant reduction in the last 3 months. The drop was 16.5% in August, 20.3% in September and 37.9% in October.
“We have observed increasingly higher rates of negative variation, compared to the same month of the previous year”, explained Brandão.
The Mdic director also highlighted that the movement reflects not only the direct effects of the tariffs, but also a possible reduction in North American demand.
“The main drop in absolute terms was in crude oil, which was not taxed. This indicates that there are different effects influencing the decline in exports to the USA”, he added.
