A Widening Export Base
Brazil recorded its largest-ever number of exporting companies in 2025, according to the annual trade report by company size published Monday by the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC). The total of 29,818 firms marks a net increase of 971 companies over 2024, when Brazil had already set the previous record at 28,847. The data series, which dates back to 2008, has now shown consecutive highs for three straight years.
The growth was broad-based. Of the 971 new exporters, 592 were mid-sized and large companies, raising that segment to 17,764 firms. The remaining 390 came from microenterprises, small businesses, and individual micro-entrepreneurs (MEIs), bringing that group to 11,822. Within the smaller firms, microenterprises stood out with 242 new entrants, pushing their total to approximately 6,000 — a sign that Brazil’s export culture is reaching further down the business size ladder.
Manufacturing Leads, All Regions Grow
The manufacturing sector remained the backbone of Brazil’s export base, accounting for 27,013 of the total — an increase of 838 firms over 2024. Mid-sized and large manufacturers added 517 new exporters, while smaller firms contributed 321. The dominance of manufacturing, which represents roughly 90% of all exporting companies, reflects a structural feature of Brazil’s trade profile even as commodities — particularly soybeans, iron ore, and crude oil — continue to dominate export revenues by value. The government has prioritized expanding the share of processed and semi-processed goods in the export mix through targeted industrial policy and trade agreements, including the long-negotiated Mercosur-EU deal.
Every region of the country expanded its exporter count. The Southeast led in absolute terms with 549 new firms, followed by the South with 394. The Center-West posted the strongest relative growth among smaller enterprises at 8.6%. The geographic spread matters: it suggests the export expansion is not confined to the industrial corridors of São Paulo and the southern states but is gradually reaching Brazil’s agricultural and extractive frontiers.
Record Exports in a Turbulent Year
The company-level data sits alongside broader trade records. Brazil’s total goods exports reached $348.7 billion in 2025, surpassing the previous high set in 2023 by $9 billion and generating a trade surplus of $68.3 billion within a total trade flow of $629.1 billion — also a record. More than 40 destination markets registered all-time high purchases of Brazilian products, with Canada, India, Turkey, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Switzerland among the standouts.
Vice President and MDIC Minister Geraldo Alckmin attributed the results to a structured trade agenda including tax reform, expanded export financing instruments, new trade agreements, and the National Export Culture Policy (PNCE), a 2023 initiative that coordinates federal, state, and municipal governments with private entities to broaden the participation of smaller firms in international trade. The government’s export promotion agency, ApexBrasil, reported supporting a record 23,386 companies in 2025, of which over half were first-time clients.
Importers Also Surge
The import side showed even faster expansion. Brazil counted 60,115 importing companies in 2025, up 7.6% from the prior year — equivalent to 4,238 new firms. Mid-sized and large importers grew 5.5%, with 1,517 new participants, while smaller firms surged 9.5% with 2,624 new entrants. The parallel growth in both exports and imports points to a deepening integration of Brazilian firms into global supply chains — a trend that will face its most serious stress test as the Iran war disrupts energy markets and Trump’s tariff regime reshapes hemispheric trade flows in 2026.