Brazil’s dairy imports skyrocket threefold in 2023

Imports of dairy products in Brazil continue to surge, with a staggering 36.4% increase in March, totaling 209.5 million liters of milk equivalent – the second-highest volume in history, only behind September 2016’s 225.2 million liters. The first quarter of 2023 saw imports reach almost 523 million liters of milk equivalent, triple the amount acquired in the same period last year.

Several factors have favored the increase in imports, including the low availability of raw material in the field, high prices of raw milk and its derivatives, the appreciation of the Brazilian Real against the dollar, and the higher competitiveness of foreign dairy products compared to domestic ones.

See below Brazil’s imports of dairy products (hs code 0400-0405) between Jan 2020 and Feb 2023. The data is from the DataLiner data service.

Brazilian dairy imports | Jan 2020 – Feb 2023 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Milk powder imports rose by 31% in March, accounting for almost 80% of the total dairy products imported. Of the volume of milk powder purchased, 49% came from Uruguay, and 46.5% from Argentina, with the derivative being bought at an average of US$3.65/kg. Although this was a 1.6% decrease from the previous month, it was still 6.4% higher than March 2022’s price.

Cheese imports also saw a considerable increase of 45.4% in March, totaling 40.3 million liters of milk equivalent (19.3% of the total imported). Over 81% of this total came from Argentina, and 12.7% from Uruguay, with the average price of imported cheese being US$9.37/kg, a 12.7% increase from February.

On the other hand, dairy exports decreased by 19.5% compared to February and 29.8% compared to March 2022, with only 5.56 million liters of milk equivalent being sold. Most shipments (32.9%) comprised condensed milk, totaling 1.8 million liters of milk equivalent, followed by cheese sales, which, despite falling by 51.4% compared to February, still accounted for 26.8% of the total exported in the month.

The sharp rise in imports, coupled with the decline in exports, resulted in a 42% increase in the trade deficit, reaching – US$99.1 million in March, according to the Secretariat of Foreign Trade (Secex). In volume, the deficit was 203.98 million liters of milk equivalent, a 36.4% increase compared to February.

Source: O Presente Rural

To read the original news report, see: https://opresenterural.com.br/brasil-importa-tres-vezes-mais-produtos-lacteos-no-1-trimestre/

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