Brazil posted a record trade surplus for November, official data showed on Thursday, driven by booming exports, with emphasis on sales to China, which grew 35.6%.
According to the Economy Ministry, the trade surplus reached US$6.7 billion in November, beating a US$5 billion surplus expected by economists in a Reuters poll.
This was the strongest result for the month in the series starting in 1989.
Exports jumped 30.5% over the same month in 2021 to US$28.2 billion.
They were helped by a 35.6% increase in sales to China, which ensured a 0.2% year-to-date growth in exports to the Asian giant, reversing the 1.8% drop seen in the Jan-Oct period, said Herlon Brandao, undersecretary of intelligence and foreign trade statistics.
Brazil’s main trade partner, China, was expecting to see the first shipments of Brazilian corn in November since a new bilateral trade protocol entered into force.
According to data from the ministry, total corn exports rose 222.3% in November from the same month last year. Oil sales also posted a strong 124.9% expansion in the period, while sugar exports rose 69.8%.
In contrast, Brazilian imports were down 5.5% over November 2021, totaling US$21.5 billion.
Year-to-date, the trade balance surplus reached US$58 billion, up from US$57.4 billion in the same period last year.