In the second week of April 2018, the trade balance registered a surplus of US $ 1.829 billion, resulting from exports of US $ 5.24 billion and imports of US $ 3.415 billion, according to data from the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services ). In the year, exports totaled US $ 64.173 billion and imports, US $ 46.897 billion, with a surplus of US $ 17.276 billion.
The second week’s average exports reached US $ 1.048 billion, 14.9% above the first week’s average (US $ 912.5), due to the increase in exports of basic products (44.7%, on account of calcined magnesia, crude oil, copper ore, leaf smoke and soybean meal).
Sales of semimanufactured products declined (-25.5%, due to crude soybean oil, pig iron and spiegel, raw sugar, semimanufactured gold and cellulose). Exports of manufactured goods also fell (-6.1% due to gasoline, ethanol, aviation engines and turbines, electric motors, generators and transformers and aluminum oxides and hydroxides).
In imports, there was an increase of 11.5% over the same comparison period (second week average of US $ 683.0 million, over the first week average of US $ 612.7 million), mainly explained by the increase in the expenditure on cereals and products from the milling industry, fertilizers and fertilizers, fuels and lubricants, organic and inorganic chemicals and mechanical equipment.
Month
In the month, exports totaled US $ 9.806 billion and imports, US $ 6.478 billion, with a positive balance of US $ 3.328 billion. In foreign sales, compared to the averages up to the second week of April 2018 (US $ 980.6 million) with that of April 2017 (US $ 982.2 million), there was a fall of 0.16%, due to the decrease (-4.2% on flexible iron and steel pipes, hydrocarbons and by-products, refined sugar, passenger cars and aluminum oxides and hydroxides).
Sales of basic products increased (2.7% on live cattle, crude oil, leaf tobacco, copper ore and beef) and semi-manufactured products (2% on the basis of raw aluminum, cast iron and spiegel iron, semi-finished products of iron and steel, ferro-alloys and cellulose).
In relation to March of this year, there was a growth of 2.5%, due to the increase in sales of basic products (8.9%), while sales of manufactured goods (-4) and semi-manufactured goods fell (-0.9 %). In imports, the daily average up to the second week of April 2018 (US $ 647.8 million) was 8.8% above the average of April 2017 (US $ 595.4 million). In this comparison, expenses increased mainly with beverages and alcohol (105.6%), mechanical equipment (42%), motor vehicles and parts (41.3%), iron and steel (34.6%) and organic and inorganic chemicals (9.5%).
In comparison with March of this year, imports fell by 1.5%, due to decreases in aircraft and parts (-33%), fuels and lubricants (-29.5%), pharmaceuticals (-7.2%), instrument optics and precision (-5.6%) and organic and inorganic chemicals (-3.7%).