Brazil trade with US up 9.5%, down with other countries

With China, Brazil’s biggest partner, sales slipped 17.1%

Published on 16/09/2019 - 14:31 By Vitor Abdala - Rio de Janeiro

Brazil’s exports to the US grew 9.5 percent in August this year from the same month in 2018. Imports from the North American country, in turn, rose 27.9 percent. Commerce with other key partners—like China, Argentina, and the EU—also saw a reduction.

The figures were released in Rio de Janeiro today (Sep 16) by the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) and show that Brazilian exports to Argentina sank 38.9 percent in the month. Sales to China fell 17.1 percent, whereas the amount exported to the EU lowered seven percent.

The country’s current trade—exports plus imports—dropped 15 percent from August 2018 to August 2019. The values exported by Brazil—the volume and price of goods and services—decreased 13 percent. The value of imports went down 17 percent.

This can be ascribed, FGV reported in a note, to “the slowdown in global trade and Brazil’s low level of activity.”

In terms of volume, exports and imports faced the same shrinkage (-13%), but prices of imported goods declined more than those of exports. In August, all sectors experienced a slide in the exported volume, chief among them manufacturing.

Translation: Fabrício Ferreira -  Edition: Kleber Sampaio / Nira Foster

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