© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Containers in line to be loaded at a cargo terminal at the Port of Santos, in Santos, Brazil September 16, 2021. REUTERS/Carla Carniel/File Photo
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s trade balance closed 2023 with a record surplus of $98.8 billion, benefiting from a drop in imports, while exports ended the year with mild growth aided by larger volumes of commodities sold abroad, government data showed on Friday.
The figure represents a 60.6% growth over the previous record, recorded in 2022.
The annual outcome followed a surplus of $9.4 billion in December, above analysts’ expectations of $7.8 billion in a Reuters survey.
Imports last year fell 11.7% from 2022, according to figures from the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services.
This trend persisted throughout the year, with contraction observed in both prices and volumes, resulting in lower imports of key products such as fuels, fertilizers, and electronic components used by industry.
Meanwhile, Brazilian exports rose 1.7% in 2023.
Brazil’s volume of exports has experienced an upswing due to an unprecedented agricultural harvest and a surge in the extractive sector.
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