RS agribusiness exports record a 26% drop in the second quarter of 2022

Agribusiness exports from Rio Grande do Sul totaled US$3,5 billion in the second quarter of 2022, which represents a 26% drop in value compared to the same period of the previous year. Among the most representative sectors of the segment, the soybean complex (total of US$ 1,1 billion; -62,0%) was the main responsible for the reduction, while the other sectors showed gains in the period: meat (US$ 725,8 million; +18,3%), tobacco and tobacco products (US$388,3 million; +60,9%), forestry products (US$386,8; +5,6%) and cereals, flours and preparations ( US$ 298,7 million; +192,1%). In absolute terms, the drop in agribusiness foreign sales was US$1,2 billion compared to the second quarter of 2021.

Even so, in the first six months of 2022, exports from the Rio Grande do Sul sector increased by 3,7% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching US$7 billion. Without considering inflation during the period, the value is the highest for the first half of the entire historical series, which began in 1997, and represents an increase of US$250,6 million compared to 2021.

Information on sales for the period and the accumulated result for the first half of 2022 is part of the RS Agribusiness Indicators bulletin, released this Thursday morning (11/8) by the Department of Economics and Statistics (DEE), linked to the Secretariat of Planning, Governance and Management (SPGG), and prepared by analysts Rodrigo Feix and Sérgio Leusin Júnior. The document also includes data on formal employment in the countryside in the second quarter and in the period from January to June.

Sectors and main destinations

The lower availability of the product due to the drought that hit the state was the reason for the drop in sales of the soybean complex in the second quarter of 2022, which saw a 72,8% reduction in volume shipped and US$1,8 billion in value . Among the soy complex products, soybeans led to the drop in numbers (total of US$ 364,94 million; -84,8%), while bran (US$ 462,08 million; +25,8%) and soybean oil (US$269,86 million; +118,4%) registered an increase in the period.

In the meat sector, the increase in sales of chicken meat (total of US$ 427,15 million; +39,7%) and beef (US$ 111,65 million; +69,6%) offset the drop in pork exports (US$ 142,91 million; -33,1%). Tobacco and its products also registered an increase in the trade of its main item, unmanufactured tobacco (total of US$ 356,16 million; +71,1%), as well as the forest products segment, which saw an increase in cellulose sales (total US$255,73 million; +8%).

For the cereals, flours and preparations sector, the high percentage growth is explained by the increase in corn sales (total of US$ 113,90 million; +1.793,7%) and also by wheat, which had no shipments in the second quarter 2021 and in 2022 it registered exports of US$ 98,63 million. 

Among the main destinations for agribusiness products from Rio Grande do Sul, China remained in first place in the ranking, responsible for 22,7% of purchases. Despite its leadership, the Asian country recorded a 71,7% drop in trade with the State (minus US$2 billion), driven by the reduction in sales of soybeans. Next on the list of destinations are the European Union (15,3%), the United States (6,2%), India (4,7%) and Iran (4%).

First half of 2022

In the first six months of 2022, the US$7 billion exported by Rio Grande do Sul's agribusiness represented 68,7% of Rio Grande do Sul's total exports. The soybean complex (total US$1,9 billion; -41,5% ), meats (US$ 1,3 billion; +13,4%) and cereals, flours and preparations (US$ 1,1 billion; +209,9%) had the main contributions to sales in the period, followed by tobacco and its products (US$881,5 million; +46,9%) and forestry products (US$766,9 million; +26,4%).

As for specific products on the export list, soybeans (minus US$ 1,9 billion; -74,8%) lost space in value in the period, while wheat (plus US$ 606,9 million; +495,1, 282,31%), soybean meal (plus US$50,8 million; +280,84%), non-manufactured tobacco (plus US$52,3 million; +267,98%), soybean oil (plus US$196,5 .181,72 million; +32,5%), chicken meat (plus US$ 112,90 million; +29%) and cellulose (US$ 2022 million; +XNUMX%) are among the main advances of the six first months of XNUMX.

In relation to export destinations in the first half of the year, China remains at the top, representing 20,4% of the total, despite the 56,8% drop in sales in the period. In the first six months of 2021, the Chinese were responsible for 48,4% of Rio Grande do Sul's agribusiness purchases. In second place on the list is the European Union, with a 17,4% share in 2022 compared to 11,4% in 2021, the United States (5,4%), India (4,3%) and Saudi Arabia (4,2%). %).