In January 2018, exports from the state of São Paulo totaled US $ 3.63 billion (21.4% of the national total) and imports, US $ 5.17 billion (36.4% of the national total). deficit of US $ 1.54 billion, according to the Institute of Agricultural Economics (IEA) of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply. Compared to last January, the value of exports from São Paulo increased by 6.5% and that of imports by 18%, increasing the trade deficit (58.8%).
In the same period, São Paulo’s agribusiness decreased in foreign sales (-17.1%), registering US $ 1.21 billion; while imports increased by 4.9%, totaling just over US $ 430 million, which caused a 25.7% decrease in the trade balance, compared to the first month of 2017, reaching US $ 780 million. This decrease is mainly due to the decrease in the exported value of the sugar and alcohol complex, which fell by 42% in January 2018. Even with the decrease in the surplus, the positive results of the state agribusiness are extremely important to reduce the deficit of the São Paulo foreign trade accumulated in the other sectors, say José Alberto Angelo and Marli Mascarenhas Oliveira, IEA researchers.
The Brazilian trade balance registered a surplus of US $ 2.77 billion, 16.4% higher than the one obtained in January 2017. Exports totaled US $ 16.97 billion and imports of US $ 14.20 billion. Brazilian agribusiness exports increased 4.8% in January 2018, when compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching US $ 6.15 billion (36.2% of the total). Meanwhile, imports from the sector fell 2.4%, totaling US $ 1.24 billion (8.7% of the total). The agribusiness surplus was US $ 4.91 billion, 6.7% higher than the same period of last year.