March trade balance shows smallest positive in three years at 9.7%

The trade balance in March registered the lowest positive in three years. Last month, Brazil exported US$4.713 billion more than it imported. The result is 9.7% higher than the US$4.296 billion surplus registered in March last year.  The total amount exported was US$19.239 billion, a decrease of 4.7% in relation to March of last year by the daily average criterion. Imports totaled US$14.525 billion – a 4.5% decrease also by daily average.

With the March result, the trade balance accumulates a surplus of US$6.135 billion in the first three months of the year – a decrease of 33.1% in comparison with the same period last year, when the surplus had reached US$9.025 billion. The accumulated result for the year is still influenced by the month of January, when the balance registered a deficit of US$1.674 billion.

In the first three months of the year, exports totaled US$50.095 billion, a 3.7% year-on-year decrease based on the daily average. Imports totaled US$43.960 billion, an increase of 2.6% in the same period comparison. This explains the retraction in this year’s balance.

Exports

According to the Foreign Trade Secretariat of the Ministry of Economy, the main products that had a drop in exports last month were corn, with a decrease of 51.1% in relation to March of last year, cellulose (-32.1%) and aircraft and aircraft components (-22%). On the other hand, sales of sugar and molasses (+ 36.4%), beef (+ 27.1%) and crude oil (+ 13%) increased. Despite the average 9.9% drop in the international price of the barrel in March, the volume of oil shipped increased by 25.4%, resulting in a 13% increase in the value exported by Brazil.

In relation to sectors of the economy, agriculture pushed exports last month, with sales growth of 6.8% compared to March 2019. Sales from the extractive industry (a category that includes minerals) fell 4%. Affected mainly by the crisis in Argentina, exports from the manufacturing industry decreased by 9.8% over the same period comparison.

Imports

On the imports side, purchases of capital goods – machinery and equipment used in production – rose 6.6% in January compared to the same month last year. Purchases of intermediate goods fell by 3.4%. However, due to the recovery of the economy, purchases of consumer goods rose 6.9%. Imports of fuels and lubricants fell sharply by 15.3%.

After the trade balance ended 2019 at a surplus of US$46.657 billion, the second-largest positive result in history, the market estimates a smaller surplus in 2020, motivated mainly by trade tensions between developed countries, which reduces global trade, and the surge coronavirus in China, the main destination for our exports.

Source: Agência Brasil

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