Brazil increases its exports to feed the world. Year to date, exports have already reached US$ 93.6 billion, an increase of 20.6% compared to the same period in 2020. In September 2021, Brazilian agricultural exports reached US$ 10.1 billion. This result represents a US$ 8.8 billion surplus in the agribusiness trade balance. The total Brazilian trade balance reached a surplus of US$ 4.3 billion.
The main product in our agribusiness export line in September 2021 was soybean, with a share of 24,3% and US$ 2.5 billion worth, which represents an increase of 57.6% compared to the same period in 2020. The second main export product was fresh beef, which shows a 85.7% increase compared to September 2020 and US$ 1.1 million worth.
When it comes to the most significant increases, raw soybean oil stands out (+1,013.3%), with export sales rising from US$ 13.2 million in 2020 to US$ 147.2 million in 2021. Fresh chicken meat is also a significant product in our export line, having had an increase of 54.1% this year.
Our main export destination in September 2021 was China, with a share of 32.4%, followed by the European Union (15%) and the United States (7%). Other countries also had remarkable participation: Japan (2.9%), South Korea (2%), United Arab Emirates (1.9%), Iran (1.9%), Vietnam (1.8%), Thailand (1.7%) and Hong Kong (1.6%).
Some destination countries showed a significant performance in September 2021 compared to September 2020. Among these, it is worth mentioning China (+42.8%) and the United Arab Emirates (+31.5%). When considering the year-to-date until September, the highest positive variation in comparison to the same period in 2020 occurred in exports to Iran (+98.3%), followed by Thailand (+40.2%) and the United States (+28.4%). Our Persian partner mostly purchased fresh sugar cane, which represented an increase of US$ 22.4 million on this product.
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A positive scenario in Brazilian agribusiness
Our last report on the Gross Production Value (GPV) shows the continuous growth in Brazilian agricultural exports. The Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA) estimates that the agriculture GPV will reach R$ 1.22 trillion (approx. 216.3 billion) by the end of 2021. This projection is based on reports and data from September 2021.
The projection also shows an increase of 10.2% compared to 2020. Soybean and corn remain the major products responsible for the good results. The GPV projection of livestock farming for 2021 is 9.1% higher than the result from 2020, reaching R$ 429 billion. Beef alone is responsible for more than 52% of the livestock farming GPV.