Data from the Brazilian Trade Balance, presented by the Secretariat of Foreign Trade (Ministry of Economy), for the first four months of 2020 show that, even in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic and the economic difficulties experienced around the world, the country has a practically unchanged trade flow , compared to the same period last year, with US$ 123.4 billion in the first four months of this year, against US$ 126.2 billion in 2019.
When analyzing exclusively the month of April, there is a growth of US$ 1.1 billion in the trade balance in 2020, compared to the same month in 2019, with a result of US$ 6.7 billion. Result of total exports of US$ 18.3 billion due to a number of imports in the order of US$ 11.6 billion.
President of the Parliamentary Agricultural Front (FPA), federal deputy Alceu Moreira (MDB-RS) compares Brazilian agriculture to an engine, stating that “the sector can be boosted quickly if we invest in research, technology and innovation”. The parliamentarian adds that “with investments and fair interest for those who need it, we will be able to increase 20% from what we have today, in less than 5 years”.
The numbers presented by the Ministry of Economy have direct collaboration from the agricultural sector. When analyzing the international classification by economic activity between January and April 2020 and 2019, it is possible to notice a growth of more than US$ 2 million in the export of agricultural products this year, with emphasis on soybeans and cotton, with an increase of 29.9% and 69.5%, respectively. Effect of growth in trade with China, in which exports grew by 11.3%.
Federal deputy, Pedro Lupion (DEM-PR), member of the FPA, cites the increase of 17.5% in the agricultural sector in Brazilian exports in the first four months of 2020, understanding that this result depends on the right choices of representatives for the sector with the foreign market. “President Jair Bolsonaro was right to choose our minister Tereza Cristina to command the Ministry of Agriculture and provide the support that rural producers need to guarantee the harvest”, declares the parliamentarian.
International trade
When comparing how much Brazil exported to major world economies in the first four months of 2020 and 2019, in reference to what was exported to the Chinese market, it is observed that for every US$ 1 exported to the European Union, Brazil exported US$ 2 to the China. For every US$ 1 that Brazil exports to the USA, US$ 3 are exported to the Chinese, even when checking the proportion of exports made to South America.
Another piece of data referring to the Asian country is the note that Brazilian exports in 2020 with the Chinese reach US$ 21.8 million. A value greater than that achieved with the sum of exports carried out this year to the European Union (US$ 10.7 million), the USA (US$ 7 million) and Argentina (US$ 2.6 million), which totals US$ 20.4 millions.
Federal deputy for Minas Gerais, Zé Silva (SDD-MG) believes that “Brazilian agribusiness has been the anchor for guaranteeing a surplus in the Brazilian trade balance in recent decades”. For him, proof of this also lies in the conquest of new markets, “I especially mention Asia, highlighting China and also our competitiveness due to the quality of our products and productivity”.
Historical monthly records were broken this April, in the analysis of exported volume. Soybeans exceeded 16 million tons, raw cotton exceeded 90 thousand tons, while beef reached 116 thousand tons, followed by pork with 63 thousand tons. The same analysis can be made when looking at the exported value, which for soybeans reached US$ 5.5 billion, for beef it exceeded US$ 500 million, pork reached US$ 154 million and cotton exceeded US$ 140 million.
Finally, it is worth noting that Brazil grew its export volume in the four months of this year, at a margin of 1.1% in relation to the same period in 2019. And that in April the increase was even greater, at around 2.9% when analyzing the quantity exported by the country in April of last year. The data becomes even more relevant when it is highlighted that the WTO (World Trade Organization) projects a global drop in the volume traded in the world between -13% and -32% in the year.
Alceu Moreira mentions that in the first four months of this year, 48 countries expanded the portfolio of products to be imported from Brazil and 21 new countries, which had never traded with our country in the agricultural sector, opened their doors to import Brazilian products.
“It means saying that national agriculture has a great future and that if we have capacity and support, with cost reductions, such as interest and transport logistics, removing the hidden partner from our midst, we will have an even more competitive agriculture”. The president of the FPA ends by saying that “in this way we can obtain the capacity to produce volumes that serve 2 billion people quickly, instead of the 1.4 billion that we serve today”.
Source: DATA
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