Brazil's Trade Surplus Beats Forecasts
2026-06-03 18:41
By
Isabela Couto
1 min. read
Brazil’s trade surplus widened to $7.82 billion in May 2026, up 10.8% from a year earlier and above market expectations of $7.65 billion.
Exports rose 6.6% year-on-year to $31.90 billion, driven by stronger shipments from agriculture (9.8%) and manufacturing (9.0%), which more than offset a 1.9% decline in extractive industries.
Higher exports of corn, soybeans, cotton, beef, fuel oils, and gold supported the increase, while shipments of coffee, iron ore, crude oil, sugar, and cellulose fell.
Imports increased 5.3% to $24.08 billion, mainly due to a 6.3% rise in manufacturing purchases, led by fuel oils, semiconductors, and passenger vehicles.
Trade with China remained strong, with exports rising 9.5% and imports surging 24.2%, while exports to the EU increased 8.8%.
In contrast, exports to the US fell 14.0% and shipments to Argentina dropped 21.7%.
In January-May, exports rose 8.7% and imports increased 3.2% from a year earlier.