MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian 2022 agribusiness exports totaled US$ 160bn, up 32% from previous year

The price index of products exported by agribusiness increased 22.1% compared to 2021, and the volume shipped grew by 8.1%.

Brazilian agribusiness exports totaled almost US$ 160 billion in 2022, up 32% over the previous year, influenced by the performance of international prices, according to the Secretariat of Trade and International Relations (SCRI) from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock

The price index of products exported by agribusiness increased by 22.1% compared to 2021, and the volume shipped grew by 8.1%. With these increases, export agribusiness sales accounted for 47.6% of total exports in Brazil in 2022.

The growth in export volumes of agricultural products was reinforced by the increase in the 2021/2022 grain harvest, which reached 271.4 million tons. Corn and soybeans were the crops that grew the most, with almost 113 million tons and 126 million tons, respectively.

The export sectors that stood out between January and December 2022 were: the soy complex (US$ 60.95 billion, 38.3% of the total); meats (US$ 25.67 billion, 16.1% of the total); forest products (US$ 16.49 billion, 10.4% of the total); cereals, flours and preparations (US$ 14.46 billion, 9.1% of the total) and sugar and alcohol complex (US$ 12.79 billion, 8% of the total).

Imports of agribusiness products last year totaled US$ 17.24 billion. The result is explained by the increase in average prices (+13.8%) since the imported volume fell in the referred period (-2.4%).

The sector with the most exports was cereals, flours, and preparations, with US$ 2.19 billion (+117.9%). The main product of this sector was corn. Foreign sales of the grain grew from 3.4 million tons in December/2021 to 6.4 million tons in December/2022 (+88%).

China alone was responsible for a third of the increase in corn export volume. Sales to the Asian country were authorized last November and, in December 2022, reached 1.10 million tons, placing the country as the largest importer of Brazilian corn.