Brazil´s imports from China climbed 34.1% in the first four months of the year, while exports had a more modest increase, with Brazilian foreign trade hitting new records.
Year-to-date, purchases from China (+34.1%), were surpassed by those from the United States (+47.3%), but were ahead of the ones from European Union countries (+11.6%), according to data released by the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex) of the Ministry of Economy.
Exports year-to-date increased to all major trading partners, especially the European Union (+36.5%), the United States (+32.9%), Argentina (+26.6%) and China (+ 5.3%), in addition to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which currently represents 7.5% of Brazilian export trade (+35.9%).
New historic record for trade between Brazil and China in 2021
In April, Secex recorded a reduction in sales to China (-1.3%) and a jump of 37.5% in imports from the Chinese market.
With a surplus of USD 19.94 billion, the country reached the highest values for the period from January to April in balance, trade flow, exports and imports.
The trade flow reached USD 182.424 billion, reflecting the sum of exports of USD 101.185 billion and imports of USD 81.238 billion. The four values are the highest for this period in the historical series, which began in 1997.
Brazilian state of Mato Grosso playing “dominant role in Sino-Brazilian agricultural trade”
According to Secex, the prices of exported products grew by 19.9%, while the volume decreased by 8%. Imports, on the other hand, rose 35.7% and totaled USD 20.75 billion, also with a rise in prices (+34.4%) and a reduction in volume (-6.9%).
Sales by the Manufacturing Industry in April reached USD 14.83 billion – an increase of 35% over the same period in 2021, by the daily average – and were the main factors responsible for boosting the value achieved by the country in the month.
The highlights were exports of automobiles and aircraft, in addition to beef and poultry. Among agricultural products, exports grew by 12.7% in the month, totaling USD 8.24 billion, driven by higher sales of corn (+655.4%) and coffee (+53.8 %).
China’s soybean imports from Brazil rise despite higher prices
In the Extractive Industry, exports decreased 10.2%, to USD 5.69 billion. The brake came mainly from the iron ore business, which fell 22.7%.
In the year, agricultural exports rose 38.8% by the daily average, compared to the same period in 2021, and reached USD 24.645 billion. There was also growth in the Manufacturing Industry (+33.4%), which sold USD 53.796 billion. Extractive Industry exports fell (-4.1%) and reached USD 22.280 billion.
