Brazil’s diesel imports rise 23.9% in first four months, sales up 2%

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s diesel imports rose 23.9% to 4.7 billion liters in the first four months of the year, according to data released Monday by regulator ANP, while sales of the fuel by dealers in the country increased only 2% in the same period.

In April, the country imported 1.557 billion liters of diesel, up 30.6% from March and 11% from last year.

The volume of imports recorded in April is the highest since October 2021 (1.85 billion liters), as Brazil seeks to secure supplies in a tight foreign market given the war in Ukraine.

Diesel sales by Brazilian distributors rose 2.1% to 19.9 billion liters in the four months, while they fell in April from the previous month for the first time this year.

April sales of the country’s best-selling fuel totaled 4.96 billion liters, down slightly from the same month last year but down 470 million liters from March.

Gasoline imports also increased by almost 30% to 807.9 million liters in the year’s first four months. Compared to April last year, there was a 54.6% increase, with fossil fuels gaining market share over water-based ethanol.

Gasoline sales rose 14.1% to 13.13 billion liters in the first four months, with monthly sales exceeding 3.2 billion liters per month since January.

Sales of water-based ethanol, which competes with gasoline, fell 21.9% to about 5 billion liters in the first four months of the year and totaled 1.37 billion liters in April, down 10% from a year earlier.

Imports of anhydrous ethanol (blended with gasoline) fell 33.8% to 130.3 million liters in the first four months, compared with just 4 million liters in the first quarter, a year-on-year decline of almost 80%.