Trade balance reaches record of R$98.8 billion driven by soybean harvest

The Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC) announced this Friday (5) that the trade balance ended 2023 with a record surplus of US$98.839 billion, driven by the record soybean harvest and the drop in imports. The result represents an increase of 60.6% over 2022, using the daily average criterion, and is the highest since the beginning of the historical series in 1989.

Last year, exports hit a record, while imports fell. In 2023, Brazil sold US$339.673 billion abroad, an increase of 1.7% compared to 2022. Purchases from abroad totaled US$240.835 billion, a decrease of 11.7% in the same comparison.

In December, the trade balance recorded a surplus of US$9.36 billion. The value is also a record for the month, with an increase of 127.1% over the same month in 2022 using the daily average criterion, which minimizes the difference in working days between similar months of one year and another.

Exports totaled US$28.839 billion last month, an increase of 2.1% compared to December 2022 based on the daily average. Imports totaled US$19.479 billion, a drop of 11.3%, also based on the daily average.

According to the ministry, the record in exports was mainly due to the increase in the quantity exported, which rose 8.7% last year, driven mainly by the record grain harvest. Average prices fell 6.3%, driven mainly by the slowdown in the price of commodities (primary goods with international prices).

In imports, the quantity purchased fell 2.6%, but the average price fell 8.8%. The drop in prices was mainly due to the reduction in the international price of oil and derivatives, such as fertilizers, in 2023. In 2022, prices soared due to the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

“Even with the drop in the price of commodities and lower growth in the world economy, Brazil increased 8.7% in the volume of exports and 1.7% in the value of exports. Our exports grew ten times more than the world average. Across the planet, exports grew 0.8% last year”, declared, via videoconference, the Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services and Vice-President of the Republic, Geraldo Alckmin.