Foreign trade figures of Brazil

Foreign Trade in Figures

Although foreign trade only represents around 34% of its GDP (World Bank, latest data available), Brazil has enormous economic potential. The country mainly exports soya beans (15.7%), petroleum oils (12.5%), iron ores (9%), cane or beet sugar (4.6%), and maze and corn (4%); while its main imports are petroleum oils (11%), parts and accessories for tractors and motor vehicles (3%), turbojets (2.6%), and motor cars (2.4% - data Comtrade).

In 2023, Brazil’s main export partners were China (30.7%), the United States (11%), Argentina (4.9%), the Netherlands (3.6%), and Mexico (2.5%); whereas imports came chiefly from China (22.2%), the United States (15.9%), Germany (5.4%), Argentina (4.9%), and India (2.8% - data Comtrade). Despite being the largest economy in Latin America and the ninth in the world, Brazil is still relatively closed compared to other large economies, with a low trade penetration and a low number of exporters relative to the population (its absolute number of exporters is roughly the same as that of Norway, a country with approximately 5 million people, compared to Brazil’s 200+ million). However, the country has been implementing changes to improve trade, such as reducing the time for documentary compliance for both exporting and importing by enhancing its electronic data interchange system. Additionally, given that the EU is Brazil's second-biggest trading partner, they are working on a free trade agreement - as a part of the EU's Association Agreement negotiations with the Mercosur countries. Not only that, but the bloc has also been looking into signing a bilateral agreement with China in a plan to modernise and open it to other regions.

Brazil’s trade balance is structurally positive but had been declining in recent years due to a drop in the prices of raw materials, an increase in energy imports and a decline in the competitiveness of Brazilian products. However, the positive balance increased in 2023, reaching 2.4% of GDP (from 0.4% one year earlier – data World Bank). According to the latest available data from WTO, in 2023, Brazil imported USD 252.7 billion and exported USD 339.7 billion in goods (-13.5% and +1.6% y-o-y), while in services the country imported USD 82.8 billion and exported USD 45.2 billion, respectively (+3.6% and +12.1% y-o-y).  According to preliminary government figures, Brazil's trade surplus fell by nearly 25% in 2024, reaching USD 74.6 billion, due to higher imports. Despite the 24.6% decline from 2023, it remains the second-largest surplus since records began in 1989.