Brazil’s trade balance recorded a surplus of 5.8 billion US dollars in November, a decrease of 13.4% from the balance recorded in the same month last year, the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services reported on Thursday (4).
A Reuters survey of economists indicated an expected positive balance of $5.7 billion for this period.
This month’s data was the result of exports worth US$28.5 billion, representing an increase of 2.4% compared to November last year, and US$22.7 billion in imports, an increase of 7.4%.
In the year, the country achieved a surplus of US$57.8 billion, with exports amounting to US$317.8 billion (+1.8%) and imports US$260 billion (+7.2%). Both cumulative results were the highest recorded in the historical series, which includes data since 1989.
The agriculture sector witnessed the largest increase in exports last month (+25.8%), followed by the manufacturing sector (+3.7%), while the extractive industry recorded a decrease of 14%.
In terms of imports, sales in the manufacturing sector jumped by 9.3%, while extractive industries fell by 18.1%, followed by the agricultural sector, which fell by 5.4%.
Exports to China and the United States of America
Mdic’s Director of Statistics and Foreign Trade, Herlon Brandão, highlighted shipments to China, which increased by 41%, as responsible for the export growth in November and pointed to a smaller decline of 28.1% in shipments to the United States, compared to a decline of 37% in October.
On November 20, US President Donald Trump signed a decree suspending import taxes on Brazilian beef, coffee and other agricultural products that have been affected by 40% tariffs since August.
Among the main products that saw a decline in shipments, Brandao highlighted crude oil, which was not subject to the tax, meat and coffee. According to him, there is a “mix of situations” that makes it difficult to determine the direction of these exports, but the data should become clearer in the coming months.
“We may not have yet noticed this impact of eliminating tariffs on these products (meat and coffee) this month,” he said at the press conference to publish the data. “We hope to see that in the coming months.”