Balance of trade reports first deficit since 2000
Brazil's balance of trade was negative by $3.93 billion in 2014, the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC) reported. The result was as expected, and marks the first annual deficit since 2000, when a negative $731.77 million was reported. Moreover, the amount is the worst deficit since 1998's $6.623 billion.
In 2013, a downward trend began to impact the annual results, resulting in a mere $2.6 billion surplus in 2013 – a 86.8% drop from $19.4 billion in 2012. And in 2014, exports went a further 7% down, totaling $225.101 billion, against lesser declines (4.4%) in imports, which totaled $229.031 billion.
Declines were seen in all sectors. A total $80.211 billion in manufactured goods was exported (-13.7%), whereas intermediate goods sold $29.066 billion (-4.8%). Basic goods – which accounted for nearly half of the total exports – sold $109.557 billion (-3.1%).
Imports have also declined significantly – 7.6% in the case of capital goods (machinery and equipment). Imports of consumer goods have also shrunk (-5.2%), as did raw materials and intermediate goods (-3.3%), as well as fuels and lubricants (-2.4%).
Brazil's imports came mainly from China ($37.3 billion), the US ($35.3 billion), and Argentina ($14.1 billion), which were also the three leading markets for Brazil's exports – China bought $40.6 billion, the US, $27.1 billion, and Argentina, $14.3 billion, followed by the Netherlands ($13 billion) and Japan ($6.7 billion).
According to the MDIC Secretary for Foreign Trade, Daniel Marteleto Godinho, the ministry hopes to reverse the downward trend in 2015. “We're expecting a trade surplus in 2015, but it's too early to talk about numbers,” he said, adding that the ministry will work hard towards a positive result “by focusing on increasing exports”. The specific steps they will take to toward this result will be announced soon.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Balance of trade reports first deficit since 2000
