Subdued demand for products such as soy and iron ore has dragged down exports while demand for foreign products remains robust in Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy. Particularly significant was the drop of exports to Mercosur partner Argentina, 20.7%, which is the lowest level since 2009.

Measures adopted by President Dilma Rousseff’s government to help exporters have so far failed to raise sales abroad. Officials have repeatedly intervened in foreign exchange markets to weaken Brazil’s currency, the real, in a bid to help cheapen costs for exporters.

Brazil’s exports fell 5.3% to 242.58 billion dollars in 2012, and imports dropped 1.4% to 223.14 billion.

A sustained drop in exports this year could curtail government efforts to revive an economy that has struggled to grow over the last year and a half. A decade of high commodity prices helped Brazil become one of the world’s most dynamic economies with growth rates of more than 4% a year. But last year, Brazil, a major exporter of beef and iron ore, likely grew less than 1%.

Brazil’s trade balance improved in December to a surplus of 2.25 billion after an unexpected trade deficit of 186 million in November.

A pick-up in the economies of the United States and China would likely keep Brazilian exports stable this year, the foreign trade secretary, Tatiana Prazeres, told reporters in Brasilia. However, she warned that a recession in the European Union and weak sales to key trade partner Argentina remain a risk for Brazilian exports.

Brazil’s exports to Argentina, its third largest trade partner after China and the United States and the top market for its manufactured goods, fell 20.7% in 2012 to 17.9 billion, the lowest level since 2009.

Excluded from international credit markets since its 2002 default, Argentina adopted import restrictions last year to curb the outflow of dollars. Its protectionist action slashed its trade deficit with Brazil by 73.2% in 2012, and also angered the Brazilian government and exporters who cried foul play.

In another trade quarrel, Brazil has threatened World Trade Organization action against a handful of countries that have banned imports of its beef after a case of mad cow disease.

Brazil itself has been harshly criticized by some countries for raising tariffs on dozens of imports ranging from cars to iron pipes and bus tires to protect its local industry. Brazil has said the temporary hikes are allowed under WTO rules.

The Brazilian Trade ministry reported a decline in exports of all three product categories: semi-manufactured goods (8.3%), basic goods (7.4%) and manufactured goods (1.7%).

Regarding semi-manufactured goods, the sharpest declines were seen in exports of iron and steel products, cast iron, raw sugar, wood pulp, and raw soy oil. Basic goods whose exports dropped the most were coffee bean, iron ore, crude oil and poultry.

Manufactured goods whose foreign sales saw the sharpest decline were flat-rolled steel, refined sugar, autos, aluminum oxides and hydroxides, orange juice, engines, plastic polymers, tires, auto parts, cargo vehicles, and land leveling machines and devices.

There was, however, an increase in exports of ethanol, fuel oils, aircraft, electrical engines and generators, pumps and compressors, ferroalloys, semi-manufactured gold, hides, maize, cotton, soy bran, tobacco, beef, and soy bean.

Exports declined to all regions, except the United States, according to the ministry. The main target countries for Brazilian products were China, United States, Argentina, Netherlands and Japan.

On the other hand, there was a decline in imports of fuels and lubricants (2.4%) and of raw materials and intermediate goods (2.2%), and an increase in capital goods imports (1.5%). There was an increase in Brazilian imports from the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean (not including the Mercosur) and the European Union.

The main suppliers to Brazil were China, United States, Argentina, Germany and South Korea.

MP/Anba

In the accumulated result for the year, the trade balance surplus is US$ 7.269 billion, 68.1% more than the value registered from January to the first week of May 2008 (US$ 4.324 billion). Exports totaled US$ 46.422 billion and imports, US$ 39.153 billion from January to the first week of May this year.

In April, the trade balance surplus, which reached US$ 3.712 billion, was the greatest since May last year. According to the Foreign Trade Secretary at the ministry, Welber Barral, exports are still lower than in the period prior to the international financial crisis, which began in September last year, "but shows a tendency for recovery, while in the case of imports, the tendency is for reduction."

Embraer's First Lineage

Embraer, the Brazilian airplane maker, announced the delivery of its first Lineage 1000 business jet. The buyer is Aamer Abdul Jalil Al Fahim, a businessman from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, who received the aircraft in the city of São José dos Campos, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, where the company headquarters are located.

According to the Embraer, the aircraft will be displayed to the public at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (Ebace), due May 12 to 14 in Geneva, Switzerland. According to the Brazilian company, the jet is going to be managed by Prestige Jets, an air taxi company based in Abu Dhabi.

The Lineage 1000 is the largest business aircraft made by Embraer. It is based on the commercial jet Embraer 190, which has capacity for up to 114 passengers. Its commercial version accommodates up to 19 people and has autonomy to make direct flights from São Paulo to Miami, or from New York to Lisbon.

ABr/Anba

The figures were supplied by the Foreign Trade Secretariat at the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, and were disclosed this Monday, June 25.

The accumulated surplus for the year (exports minus imports) rose to US$ 19.577 billion, in 119 business days, nearly half the amount projected by financial market analysts for the year (US$ 42,5 billion), disclosed today in the Focus Bulletin, issued by the Brazilian Central Bank.

For the time being, imports remain as the highlight. Whereas exports (US$ 69.900 billion) grew by 20.8% compared with the same period last year, imports (US$ 50.323 billion) saw a 26% increase, using the same basis for comparison.

On the average per business day, exports stood at US$ 668.2 million, a 19.7% increase over the same period in July 2006, and a 5.3% increase over May 2007.

Average imports per business day reached US$ 422.9 million, from the 18th until the 24th this month, a 34.5% increase compared with the same period last year, and a 6.2% increase over May this year.

ABr

And then he surprised his listeners by saying that a much smaller surplus would be sufficient – under normal circumstances, with interest rates on a downward trajectory.

"We could be very comfortable with a trade surplus of around US$ 20 billion," he said.

It is Furlan’s understanding that the "cooling off" of the Brazilian economy this year, caused by the country’s high interest rates, put a brake on imports, which caused the unexpectedly large foreign trade surplus.

He pointed out that imports are a function of domestic economic dynamics: when there is domestic growth, imports will rise because they are mainly the machinery, equipment, components and raw material needed to feed output.

According to the ministry, up to December 7, Brazil’s cumulative trade surplus for the year was US$ 41.183 billion, with exports of slightly more than US$ 110 billion, which should reach US$ 117 billion by the end of the month.

The government’s present export target for 2006 is US$ 120 billion, with a surplus of US$ 30 billion.

Since Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in January 2003, Brazil has a cumulative foreign trade surplus of over US$ 100 billion.

Agência Brasil

Brazilian exports grew only 2.6% in August, while imports rose 26.9%. Brazil sold the equivalent of US$ 11.348 billion and purchased US$ 7.676 billion worth of foreign goods, resulting in a trade surplus of US$ 3.672 billion.

Overall flows in both directions were the greatest this year, but the surplus in August was only the third largest, losing out to July (US$ 5.012 billion) and June (US$ 4.030 billion).

The surplus for the first eight months of this year rose to US$ 28.348 billion, 29.5% more than the US$ 21.904 billion surplus registered over the same period in 2004.

Between January and August, total exports were up 24%, totaling US$ 76.086 billion, while imports, which amounted to US$ 47.738 billion, rose 21% during the 168 business days of this year, compared to the same period in 2004.

The surplus in the last 12 months (September, 2004, to August, 2005) stands at US$ 40.108 billion, with US$ 111.206 billion in exports and US$ 71.098 billion in imports.

The general figures for the trade balance are available on the site of the Ministry of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade –  www.desenvolvimento.gov.br.

Agência Brasil