Record agribusiness exports total US$ 14.53 billion in March this year

Agribusiness exports reached a record value of US$ 14.53 billion in March 2022, a figure 29.4% higher compared to the same month last year. The increase was driven by the 27.6% rise in the prices of products exported by agribusiness.

According to a study conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture’s Secretariat of Commerce for International Relations, the amount shipped increased by 1.4 % during the period.

Agribusiness exports accounted for 50% of the entire value exported by the country in March 2022, a movement leveraged by the record-high food prices on the global stage. On the other hand, regarding imports of agribusiness products, purchases totalled US$ 1.42 billion (up 5.9%).

Products

The soy complex (grain, bran and oil) continues to lead Brazilian exports, with a record figure of US$ 7.56 billion, accounting for more than half of the exported value of agribusiness products in March.

Foreign sales of soybean oil alone went from US$ 117.52 million in March 2021 to US$ 328.77 million in March 2022, up 179.8%, driven by the reduction in the supply of sunflower oil, whose world’s largest producer (and exporter) of the product is Ukraine, which is in conflict with Russia.

See below the year-on-year comparison of Brazilian soybean exports from 2019 to 2021. The data are from DataLiner.

Brazilian soybean exports (HS 1201) | 2019/2020/2021 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

As for animal protein, exports surpassed, for the first time, the mark of US$ 2 billion in March (US$ 2.10 billion). Beef cuts were the most exported products, with a record US$ 1.11 billion and 191,580 tonnes exported, driven by Chinese demand.

See below the track record of Brazilian beef exports from January 2020 to February 2022. The data are from DataLiner.

Exports of Brazilian beef (HS 0202) | Jan 2020 – Feb 2022 | TEU

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Main destinations

China remains the leading destination for the sector’s products, despite a drop in the share of agribusiness purchases between March 2021 (42.3% share) and March 2022 (41.4% share). Last month, sales to the Chinese market reached US$ 6.01 billion (+26.6%).

The main products were: soybeans (US$ 4.56 billion, +26.0%); fresh beef (US$ 677.48 million, +108.5%); cellulose (US$ 271.11 million, +30.3%); chicken meat in natura (US$ 123.08 million, +20.8%); raw cane sugar (US$96.63 million, +41.2%).

These products accounted for 95.4% of the total value exported in Brazilian agribusiness products to the Asian country.

2022 to date

From January to March 2022, Brazilian agribusiness exports totalled US$ 33.82 billion (+45.9%), a record value for the period, representing 46.8% of total exports by Brazil: an increase of 5.1 points percentages compared to the same period of the previous year. On the import side, the total reached in the first three months of 2022 was US$ 3.78 billion (-2.1%).

Both exports in the period and agribusiness imports were affected by the rise in average prices. In the case of exports, there was a positive change in prices (+24.9%) and volumes (+16.8%). On the other hand, imports registered an increase in average prices (+18.7%) and a reduction in the quantum index (-17.8%).

Sharing is caring!