The rise in prices due to the pandemic has been contributing to commodity exports in Brazil like never. From January to September this year, exports reached a historic mark of 69.7% of the total exported amount. In the same period of 2020, the percentage was 67.5%. Also comparing to 2019, there was an increase of almost 10%. Lia Valls, an associate researcher at Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), says that new structural adjustments from the post-pandemic period can change this scenario, however the share is unlikely to fall below 60%. Data from the Foreign Trade Indicator (ICOMEX) show that, despite the recent increase in speed, the advance of commodity exports has been steady. In 2001, commodity exports corresponded to 7.4% of shipments from January to September. In 2009, they reached 54.5% of the agenda. The prices set the pace for the rise. From January to September, average export prices rose 30.6%, and the amount exported increased by 4.1%.
Sources: Valor/Portos e Navios (*Translated by Ia Niani)