Brazil earned US$ 13.2 billion with exports of agricultural and livestock products between January and April this year. The value is 8.2% greater than that registered in the same period last year. With imports of US$ 1.9 billion, the surplus of the segment was of US$ 11.2 billion. The result is a record for the period.
The products whose external sales increased the most were soy, with an increase of 9.7%, meats, with 5.4%, and sugar and alcohol, with 20%. Also exports of paper and pulp increased by 15.5% and leather and leather products by 10.6%.
In the accumulated value for the last 12 months, agribusiness exports increased by 9.9%, adding up to US$ 44.603 billion. The sectors that contributed the most with the performance were meats, sugar and alcohol, paper and pulp, coffee, tea, mate and spices.
Agribusiness exports in the last twelve months increased 49% to Eastern Europe, 20% to Africa and 11.3% to Asia. The European Union (EU) was the main buyer of Brazilian agribusiness products, with 32% of total shipments, followed by Asia, with 20%, and Naphtha, with 15%.
In April, external sales totalled US$ 3.449 billion, figure slightly less than the US$ 3.455 billion in the same month of 2005. Imports increased 17.2% to US$ 474 million. Even so, the agribusiness trade balance had a surplus of US$ 2.976 billion.
Anba