Between January and May 2023, exports from Rio Grande do Sul totaled US$8,5 billion, an increase of 1,2% compared to the same period last year and the highest value for the period in the historical series, which began in 1997. The sum represents 6,2% of the total sold abroad by Brazil, a number that places the State in sixth place among the largest exporting States in the country, behind São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso and Paraná. Agribusiness stands out in the list of most traded products, with eight of the ten most exported products.
At the top of the list, cereals were the best-selling products in the period, with shipments of US$916,24 million, a drop of 5,5% compared to the same period in 2022, which represents 10,8% of the total. Non-manufactured tobacco (US$ 790,94 million, + 16,7% compared to the same period in 2022), soybean meal (US$ 712,10 million; + 14,1%), soybeans ( US$ 695,11 million; + 42,5%) and chicken meat (US$ 575,20 million; - 2,0%) complete the list of the five most sold products.
The State's general export figures were released this Monday (19/6) by the Department of Economy and Statistics, linked to the Secretariat of Planning, Governance and Management (DEE/SPGG). The data in the material, prepared by researchers Ricardo Leães and Sérgio Leusin Júnior, uses the ComexStat System, from the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, as a source.
Even after a period of drought, in percentage terms, soy complex products are among the biggest advances in sales in the first five months of the year. Even though the State was affected again by the lack of rain in 2023, the forecast is for a significant increase in production and availability of products for export.
"In the case of the soybean complex, although the pace of business grew in May and in the year to date, sales on the international market this season remain less intense than the previous one. The foreign market has great expectations for a broad global supply of the oilseed ", says Leães.
Among products not directly linked to agribusiness, the highlight between January and May 2023 was footwear (US$ 264,22 million; - 5,7%) and automotive vehicle parts and accessories (US$ 252,07 million ; + 36,0%).
Products from Rio Grande do Sul reached 182 countries between January and May, with emphasis on China (15,5% of the total), followed by the European Union (13,4%), the United States (10,2%) , Argentina (6,0%) and Indonesia (3,8%). In absolute values, the Asian giant was the destination that made the most purchases (+ US$ 160,80 million), driven by sales of soybeans, pork, unmanufactured tobacco and chicken meat. With total sales of US$ 146,87 million, an increase of 478,9%, Bangladesh recorded the biggest percentage increase in trade with the State, with emphasis on soybean oil, wheat and soybeans.
Among the biggest losses, the European Union saw a drop of US$213,62 million in trade with Rio Grande do Sul, a 15,8% reduction driven by lower sales of soybean meal, unmanufactured tobacco, polyethylene and cellulose. Morocco, with a reduction of 80,6% due to wheat trade, and Chile (- 25,2%), which purchased fewer products from the automotive industry, were other significant drops in the ranking for the period.
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According to a technical note from Embrapa attached to the process, the hypothetical restriction of agricultural production in consolidated high-altitude areas of the Atlantic Forest biome would directly affect more than 200 thousand farmers, of which more than 180 thousand are small (less than four fiscal modules)
