Key Points
- Exports reached $169.2 billion, up 3.0%, equal to 48.5% of Brazil’s total exports.
- The record was volume-led: shipments rose 3.6% while average prices fell 0.6%.
- China dominated demand, but Brazil expanded beef market access and pushed niche crops.
Brazil’s agribusiness exports set a new high in 2025, showing how farm output and private logistics can steady the economy even as tariff politics re-enter the conversation.
The Agriculture Ministry reported agribusiness exports of $169.2 billion in 2025, up from $164.3 billion in 2024. December alone brought $14.0 billion—record for the month—up 19.8% from December 2024.
The ministry tied the year’s performance to a record 2024/2025 grain harvest of 352.2 million tonnes, a 17% increase from the prior cycle.
Soybeans stayed the cornerstone: soybean export revenues totaled $43.5 billion (+1.4%), while volumes hit a record 108.2 million tonnes (+9.5%).
In livestock, beef export revenues jumped to $17.9 billion (+39.9%) on a 20.4% rise in volume, and officials said 11 new markets opened for Brazilian beef in 2025.
Brazil coffee leads record agriexports
Coffee was the standout in value terms, rising 30.3% to $16.0 billion as international prices reached historic highs. The ministry also flagged a wave of smaller products hitting records, widening Brazil’s export footprint.
It highlighted sesame exports to China worth $195.1 million after China opened the market in late 2024; beef offal at $605 million (267,000 tonnes); corn DDG exports reaching 825,000 tonnes, with Turkey’s purchases rising to $62.7 million from $35.6 million; and beans at $443 million (533,000 tonnes).
Record figures were also cited for pepper, peanuts, peanut oil, melons and cashew nuts. On destinations, China led with $55.3 billion—32.7% of agribusiness exports—up 11% from 2024.
The European Union followed at $25.2 billion (+8.6%), while U.S. purchases fell 5.6% to $11.4 billion amid a tougher tariff backdrop. The record figures were amplified by official channels and agribusiness accounts online.
For international readers, this is supply-chain leverage: Brazil can shift global availability and prices for staples, while supporting the trade balance (Brazil reported a $68.3 billion surplus in 2025).
The message is practical, not ideological—watch two risks: tariff escalation and tighter Chinese safeguards around beef imports heading into 2026.
Related coverage: Brazil’s Morning Call | Why Brazil’s 2026 Election Matters Globally: Trust, Tech, An This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Brazil affairs and Latin American financial news.