Exports to USA suffer largest drop among Brazil’s major trading partners

Data from the Foreign Trade Secretariat (SECEX) indicates that among Brazil’s main trading partners, the USA was the country that presented the biggest drop in Brazilian exports in 2020. Sales to the American market contracted by 23.7%, to US$ 21.4 billion.

In the same period, exports to China, Brazil’s main trading partner worldwide, rose 6.8%, to US$ 67.6 billion. Regarding the European Union and Mercosur, the fall in Brazilian exports was, 13.7% and 17.7%, respectively.

Brazil’s largest trading partner, China, concentrates its imports on lower-added-value commodities. Just three of these products account for 71% of the total volume shipped to China. They are soy (31% share), iron ore (27%), and oil (17%).

On the other hand, although the total export basket shipped to the United States is significantly less than the volume shipped to China, the export basket to the United States includes manufactured goods. Highlights include semi-finished iron or steel products (8.9%), aircraft (7.7%), pulp (4.4%), and other products from the manufacturing industry (4.2%). Regarding commodities, only oil appears among the main products exported to the United States and makes up 6.2% of the total sales to the American market.

Follow the history of exports to the USA and the comparison of the main destinations of Brazilian exports in 2019 and 2020 in the charts below:

Brazilian Exports to the USA | Jan 2017 to Nov 2020 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner

Main destination countries for Brazilian exports | Jan to Nov 2019-2020 | WTMT

Graph source: DataLiner (To request a DataLiner demo click here)

The president of the Brazilian Foreign Trade Association (AEB), José Augusto de Castro, affirms that Brazil needs to create conditions to resume being an important exporter of manufactured products to the United States, as was the case until recently. United States’ share of Brazil’s total exports is something that does not depend only on the Americans. For the president of AEB, “the increase in sales to the United States will only happen when we reduce the so-called Custo Brasil, which has been increasing progressively in recent years. If we do not carry out structural reforms, we will not have competitive prices. Without competitive prices, we will not be able to participate in the American market or be present in the largest commercial showcase in the world”.

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