Brazil’s trade surplus reached a new peak in 2023, as reported by the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services. The country exported USD 339.7 billion and imported USD 240.8 billion, resulting in a surplus of USD 98.8 billion. This surplus in 2023 was 60.6% higher than the previous year’s surplus of USD 61.5 billion.In the image shown, there is the process of loading cargo at the Paranaguá Port located in Paraná. .
The Brazilian vice-president and minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, Geraldo Alckmin, provided information indicating growth in revenue and volume in international shipments, while imports of products like fertilizers and diesel decreased.
According to Alckmin, Brazil achieved unprecedented levels of exports in 2023 to China, Indonesia, Mexico, Vietnam, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Particularly, its sales to China exceeded USD 100 billion, marking the first instance of a country importing more than USD 100 billion worth of goods from Brazil in a year. Alckmin highlighted that several products, including soybean, sugar, maize, beef, and mining machinery, had record-breaking sales quantities.
According to the vice president and minister, Brazil managed to increase the amount of exports and the revenue generated from exports, despite the decline in commodity prices and slower global economic growth. Brazil’s expansion in exports was ten times greater than the worldwide average, which stood at 0.8%, with Brazil experiencing an 8.7% increase in export volume. The government has set a target of exporting $348 billion this year.
Tatiana Prazeres, the Ministry’s secretary of Foreign Trade, mentioned that sales to various countries saw an increase, with a particular emphasis on China, the United States, and Mexico. She also noted that the decrease in prices of imported products like fertilizers in Brazil played a role in the surplus expansion. The total trade flow, which includes imports and exports, amounted to USD 580.5 billion in the previous year.
(anba)
