Brazilian agribusiness exports exceed USD 15 billion in May 2024

Brazilian agribusiness exports totaled $15.05 billion in May 2024, accounting for 49.6% of the country’s total exports. This figure marks a 10.2% decline from the $16.76 billion exported in May 2023, a drop of $1.71 billion due to lower average export prices and a reduction in global export volume.

The products that helped mitigate the decline in exports included green coffee (+$392.21 million), uncarded or uncombed cotton (+$337.30 million), cellulose (+$298.95 million), and raw cane sugar (+$114.63 million).

One of the leading sectors, the sugar and alcohol complex, continues to set export records. The sector’s exports increased from $1.24 billion in May 2023 to $1.43 billion in May 2024, a 15.3% rise. The record volume of sugar exports in May significantly contributed to this performance. Notably, the National Supply Company (Conab) estimated sugar production for the 2024/2025 harvest at 46.3 million tons, the highest in historical records. With this record production, Brazil exported 2.81 million tons of sugar in May, a 16.7% increase.

The following chart shows Brazil’s sugar export volume measured in tonnes between January 2021 and April 2024. The data was extracted from Datamar’s maritime intelligence service DataLiner.

Sugar Export Volume from Brazil | Jan 2021 – Apr 2024 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

The meat sector also remains a major player in Brazilian agribusiness exports, accounting for 14.2% of the total. In May 2024, meat exports reached $2.13 billion, a 2.0% increase from $2.09 billion in May 2023. Record shipments were seen in three meat categories: 211.98 thousand tons of fresh beef, 430.26 thousand tons of fresh chicken meat, and 91.63 thousand tons of fresh pork.

Forest products ranked third among agribusiness export sectors, with foreign sales reaching $1.55 billion, a 25.5% increase. Unlike the soybean and meat sectors, forest products saw a rise in average export prices. The price of cellulose, in particular, increased from $403 per ton in May 2023 to $551 per ton in May 2024, a 36.8% jump. China remains the primary importer of Brazilian cellulose.

In 2024, Brazilian agribusiness exports totaled $67.17 billion, a slight 0.2% decrease. This decline was primarily due to a 9.8% drop in export prices, despite a 10.7% increase in the quantity index in the first five months of the year. Agribusiness accounted for 48.4% of total Brazilian exports.

Over the past twelve months, Brazilian agribusiness exports reached $166.38 billion, a 2.4% increase from the $162.53 billion exported in the previous twelve months. Agribusiness products constituted 48.5% of Brazil’s total exports during this period.

On the import side, Brazil’s agribusiness imports totaled $17.49 billion, a 1.3% decrease from the previous twelve months’ $17.72 billion, representing 7.2% of the country’s total imports.

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