ASEAN: new opportunities ahead for Brazilian foreign trade

Brazil’s exports to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, which are part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), exceed the total sales to Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, five of the influential G7 members.

In a significant upward trend, trade with Southeast Asia, which was at $2.9 billion in 2002, has expanded to $34 billion in 20 years. Another noteworthy statistic: trade with ASEAN countries now accounts for nearly a quarter of the $73 billion surplus accumulated by Brazil’s trade balance from January to September this year.

These robust and growing numbers highlight the importance of commercial exchange with ASEAN countries and underscore the strategic relevance of the region for Brazil’s foreign trade.

According to data released by the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex) of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services (MDIC), Brazilian exports to ASEAN countries totaled $18.321 billion in the first nine months of the year (a 1.9% increase compared to the same period last year).

This growth is relatively small compared to the +23.7% increase recorded throughout 2022, but it still solidifies the group of Asian nations as one of Brazil’s major trading partners worldwide.

On the other hand, Brazilian imports saw a decrease of -5.1% to $7.022 billion after growing +4.4% last year. With these numbers, bilateral trade in 2023 amounts to a total of $25.343 billion, with a slight decrease of -0.2% compared to the same period last year.

In nine months, the trade balance with the bloc of Asian countries has already provided Brazil with a surplus of $11.299 billion, indicating that the year-end surplus could reach or even surpass the $13.947 billion recorded in 2022.

Exports and imports by country

In the first nine months of this year, Singapore was the primary market for Brazilian products among Southeast Asian countries, with exports totaling $6.2 billion (34% of total Brazilian sales), followed by Thailand ($2.8 million), Malaysia ($2.7 billion), Vietnam ($2.7 billion), Indonesia ($2.6 billion), and the Philippines ($1.13 billion).

For Brazil, Vietnam led in exports from these Southeast Asian countries, with total sales of $2.2 billion (35%). Other notable countries include Thailand ($1.5 billion), Indonesia ($1.140 billion), Malaysia ($1.091 billion), Singapore ($724 million), and the Philippines ($227 million).

Source: Comex do Brasil

To read the original news report, see: https://comexdobrasil.com/asean-nova-janela-de-oportunidades-aberta-para-o-comercio-exterior-brasileiro/

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