Brazil posted monthly records for products and imports in March following a surge in global commodity prices fueled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Exports rose nearly 20% from the same month a year earlier to $29.1 billion, a record for the data series dating back to 1959, the economy ministry detailed on Friday. Imports increased by 22% compared to March 2021, reaching a total of $21.7 billion, a record for the month of March. The results are generally due to a 17.2% increase in costs for all elements of the foreign exchange balance during the period, the ministry said.
Latin America’s largest economy also raised its 2022 import and export forecast amid the global commodity rally. For the full year, the government now forecasts a 24.2% increase in exports to $348.8 billion and an 8.1% increase in imports to $237.2 billion, resulting in a surplus of 111, $6 billion.
“There is a growing demand for Brazilian products at higher prices,” Herlon Brandao, Brazil’s undersecretary for foreign trade intelligence and statistics, said Friday.
Summary of news:
- Brazil’s exports hit record high in March due to cost of raw materials and war
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