São Paulo’s sugar and alcohol sector exports up 37.4% between January and April

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In the first four months of 2021, São Paulo’s agribusiness exports posted an 11.6% growth, reaching US$5.66 billion, while imports fell by 4.3%, totaling US$1.55 billion.

With the results, a US$4.11 billion surplus was achieved, 19.1% more than in the same period in 2020, reports the Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply of the State of São Paulo, through the Institute of Agricultural Economics (IEA/Apta).

Total exports from the State of São Paulo, in the period under review also posted an increase (+17.3%), totaling US$15.31 billion. Imports registered US$21 billion, 12.4% higher than in 2020; this combination of performances resulted in an increase of 0.9% in the trade deficit, reaching US$5.69 billion.

With a 37% share in exports, agribusiness continues to play a key role in the balance of São Paulo’s accounts, say José Alberto Angelo, Marli Dias Mascarenhas Oliveira and Carlos Nabil Ghobril, researchers at IEA.

The main groups in São Paulo agribusiness exports were:

(i) Sugar and Alcohol (US$1.78 billion, of which sugar accounted for 86.4%, and alcohol for 13.6%);

ii) Soybeans (US$907.13 million);

iii) Meat (US$719.27 million, with beef accounting for 87.3%);

iv) Juice (US$515.39 million, of which 97% referred to orange juice); and

v) Forest Products (US$496.13 million, with paper accounting for 48.3% and cellulose 36.6%).

The aggregate of these 5 groups accounted for 78.1% of São Paulo’s sectorial foreign sales.

Coffee, a traditional group in São Paulo’s exports, ranks 6th (US$239.88 million, of which 75.6% referred to green coffee).

In the comparison between the first four months of 2021 and the same period last year, there are important variations in the exported values of the 5 groups of São Paulo’s export profile, with growth for the Sugar and Alcohol (+37.4%), Meat (+8%) and Juice (18.2%) groups, and drops for the Soy (-9.4%) and Forest Products (-9.7%).

Brazil’s Trade Balance

Brazil’s trade balance posted a positive US$18.24 billion balance from January to April 2021, with exports of US$82.12 billion and imports of US$63.88 billion. This result shows a 103.8% increase in the trade balance compared to the same period in 2020.

In the sectorial analysis, agribusiness exports increased 19.8%, reaching US$36.87 billion.

On the other hand, imports grew 9.4%, registering US$5.01 billion. The surplus was US$31.86 billion, 21.6% more than in the first four months of 2020.

The main groups in Brazilian agribusiness exports were:

i) Soybean Complex (US$16.02 billion, with an 83.8% share of soybeans);

ii) Meat (US$5.61 billion, with beef, chicken and pork representing 44.9%, 37.9% and 14.6% of this total, respectively);

iii) Forest Products (US$3.93 billion, with pulp accounting for 49.5% and wood for 37.4%);

iv) Sugar and Alcohol (US$2.75 billion, with sugar accounting for 88.9%); and

v) Coffee (US$2.05 billion, with green coffee accounting for 91.5%).

The 5 aggregates accounted for 82.4% of Brazil’s sectorial foreign sales.

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