Soybeans lose leadership in the ranking of main exported products and help to pull down the result
Agricultural sector exports in 2024 were lower than in the previous period. The data are from the Trade Balance released this Monday, the 6th, by the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC). This drop was driven by soybeans (-19.4%) and corn (-39.9%), which recorded US$ 42.9 billion and US$ 8.1 billion, respectively. As a result, soybeans are no longer the main product exported by Brazil in terms of value, since oil recorded US$ 44.8 billion.
However, the metric used by the ministry does not place products that have undergone some type of process in the same category. This is the case for sugar, meat and cellulose, all of which recorded growth in export value. These products are part of the Manufacturing Industry according to the MDIC categorization, a segment that grew by 2.7%, going from US$ 177.1 billion to US$ 181.9 billion, representing 54% of the export agenda.
“The highlight of exports in 2024 goes to the Manufacturing Industry, which had the best performance among all categories, with a performance of 2.7%, that is, in a scenario in which Brazilian exports in total, in value, shrank by 0.8%, the Manufacturing Industry stands out with growth of 2.7%, surpassing the other categories — Agriculture and Extractive Industry”, reinforced the Secretary of Foreign Trade, Tatiana Prazeres.
Check out the performance of some Brazilian agribusiness products:
Unroasted coffee: US$ 11.3 billion (+55%);
Sugars and molasses: US$ 18.6 billion (+18.1%);
Beef (fresh, chilled or frozen): US$ 11.6 billion (+22.8%);
Pulp: US$ 10.6 billion (+33.7%);
Soybean meal: US$ 10.4 billion (-14.4%);
Poultry meat and edible offal: US$ 9.08 billion (+1.2%).
General exports have the second best result in the historical series
According to the MDIC, in terms of value, Brazil only failed to export more than in 2023. Therefore, the total for 2024 is US$ 337 billion, 0.8% lower than the previous year. Imports grew 9% to US$ 262.5 billion, also the second highest value in the historical series, which began in 1989. As a result, Brazil’s trade balance was positive by US$ 74.6 billion.
In terms of imports, agricultural inputs, such as fertilizers and pesticides, recorded a drop in 2024. Between fertilizers and fertilizers, the country purchased US$ 13.5 billion, which is 7.2% less than in 2023. Pesticides also decreased in terms of import value, going from US$ 4.8 billion in 2023 to US$ 4.7 billion in 2024 (-1.1%). However, the volume grew: 8.4% and 37.1%. “This is largely driven by the drop in prices,” the director considered.
As for the destination of Brazilian exports, China ranks first, with US$ 95.9 billion (-9.3%). The drop is more due to the price per volume, which fell 0.2% compared to 2023. The European Union (US$ 48.2 billion) and the United States (US$ 40 billion) purchased more Brazilian products, which led to growth in both revenue (4.2% and 9.2% more, respectively) and volume (2.7% and 10% more, respectively).
The Middle East and Africa were also positive highlights, with US$ 17.9 billion and US$ 15.8 billion, respectively. The volume exported to Middle Eastern countries was 19.4% higher than in 2023. For Africa, the volume was 23.5% higher.