Once again driven by revenue from soybean shipments, Brazilian agribusiness exports totaled US $ 7.2 billion in February, a 15.6% increase compared to the same period of last year, according to data from the Secretariat of Foreign Trade (Secex) compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture. Last month, imports from the sector totaled US $ 1.2 billion, up 10.4%. As a result, the Brazilian agribusiness trade surplus grew 16.5% in February, to US $ 6 billion. With the increase in sales, the share of agribusiness in Brazil’s exports rose sharply on the same basis of comparison, from 36% in February 2018 to 44.5%. China continued to be the main destination for agribusiness exports. Last month, the Asian country accounted for 32.8% of the revenue earned by the sector. During this period, shipments of Brazilian agribusiness to the Asian country totaled US $ 2.3 billion, an annual growth of 77.2%. Considering all the destinations, the highlights were exports of the soya complex (grains, Ssoyabean-meal and oil), which for the first time exceeded the mark of US $ 2 billion for months of February. In the period, they reached US $ 2.6 billion, a 54% increase compared to February 2018. In the period, shipments of soyabeans in grain yielded US $ 2.21 billion, more than doubled in the same period of last year. On the other hand, revenue from soyabean meal exports fell 29% to US $ 341.9 million. Revenue from soyabean oil exports declined 71.3% to $ 28.6 million. Contrary to the main agricultural commodities marketed by Brazil, exports of the sugar and ethanol complex fell 22.8% in February to US $ 425.7 million.
Source: Portos e Navios