Brazilian agribusiness continues on a positive growth trend. In June, exports hit US$ 15.7 billion, which represents a 30.8% increase compared to the same period in 2021. Year-to-date, the growth is 29.2%. These results mean a surplus of US$ 14.2 billion in our agricultural trade balance.
In June, the main product in our agribusiness export line was soybean, with a share of 40.3% and US$ 6.3 billion worth in sales, which means an increase of 22.1% compared to the same period in 2021. The second major export product was soybean bran, which showed a 63.8% increase compared to June 2021 and US$ 1.2 billion worth. Fresh beef, fresh chicken meat, and raw sugarcane complete the list of the most exported products.
Our main export destination in June 2022 was China, with a share of 36.4%, followed by the European Union (15.6%) and the United States (6.2%). Other countries also had remarkable participation: Thailand (3%), Bangladesh (3%), Iran (2.7%), India (2.1%), South Korea (1.9%), Saudi Arabia (1.8%), and Turkey (1.7%).
Some destination countries showed a significant performance in June 2022 compared to June 2021. Among these, the highlights are India (+246.9%), driven by exports of crude soy oil (an increase of US$ 229.1 million); and Bangladesh (+185.9%), driven by sales of soybean (an increase of US$ 177.5 million).
Trade balance highlight: raw sugarcane
Brazil is the world’s leading producer of sugarcane. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Brazilian crops account for 40% of global production. According to the National Supply Company (CONAB), the 2021-2022 sugarcane crop is expected to reach 585.2 million tons. For the 2022-2023 harvest, production is estimated to increase by 1.9%, totaling 596.1 million tons.
The main producing region in the country is the Southeast, especially the state of São Paulo. Brazil’s relevance increases when considering world exports of raw sugarcane. In terms of quantity, in 2020 Brazil accounted for 70% of the product’s world exports (26.7 million tons).
In 2021, raw sugarcane exports totaled 24 million tons, retreating 10% from the previous year. However, value-wise, exports were approximately US$ 8 billion, the highest value since 2017 (US$ 9 billion). In 2022, year-to-date through June, exports were $ 3.3 billion, a 6.7% retraction from the same period in 2021. The main destination of Brazilian raw sugarcane exports is China (13%), followed by Algeria (11.7%) and Nigeria (10.5%).