Brazil’s trade balance surplus (exports minus imports) amounted to US$ 3.876 billion in April, 15.73% greater than in March, when the surplus was US$ 3.349 billion.
This positive result raised the overall surplus between January and April to US$ 12.194 billion – an all-time record for the first four months of the year, according to information from the Ministry of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade.
Last year, when the Brazilian trade balance registered its best performance ever, the surplus for the first four months totaled US$ 8.093 billion. This year’s figure is 50.67% better.
The difference is even more pronounced when April’s results are compared with those of April, 2004, when the surplus came to US$ 1.960 billion. This year’s figure is 97.75% better.
So far this year, Brazil has exported US$ 33.653 billion and imported US$ 21.459 billion.
Since exports have been growing at a faster pace than imports, the surpluses have been setting continual records.
The cumulative surplus for the past 12 months – May, 2004, to April, 2005 – was US$ 37.770 billion – over US$ 10 billion more than the US$ 27.360 billion surplus amassed between May, 2003, and April, 2004.
ABr