With international trade levels declining as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Brazilian trade flows remain strong. According to data released by the Brazilian Foreign Trade Secretariat for the first four months of the year , exports to Asia, especially to China, are the hotspot for South America´s largest economy, and sales to China grew 11.3% .
From January to April, the Brazilian trade flow totaled USD 123.4 billion, just 2% less, in value, than in the same period of last year, which was USD 126.2 billion. In terms of volume of exports, Brazil actually increased its exports in April and in the four-month period, by 2.9% and 1.1%, respectively.
Brazilian exports to Asia rose 15.5% in the same period, with those to China growing 11.3%. Exports to North America fell 18.5%, to South America 21.2%, while Central America and the Caribbean had a 57.1% drop. In the “red” were also sales to the Middle East (29.9%), Africa (1.5%) and Europe (3.5%).
The Asian market now represents 47.2% of total Brazilian exports. In April 2020, Brazil broke monthly historical records of exports in volume and values for products like aluminum (770 thousand tons for a total of USD 228 million), copper ore (121 thousand tons for USD 231 million), gold (USD 278 million), raw cotton (91 thousand tons for USD 141 million) and soy (16.3 million tons for USD 5.5 billion).
The World Trade Organization (WTO) projects a worldwide drop in the volume of trade between -13% and -32% in the year.
Photo: Port of Santos, Brazil
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