Brazil exports hit record high in March on commodity prices, war

Brazil posted record monthly exports and imports in March on the back of a surge in global commodity prices fueled by the Russian invasion of the Ukraine. 

Exports rose almost 20% from the same month a year ago to $29.1 billion, a record for the data series that goes back to 1959, the Economy Ministry reported Friday. Imports increased 22% from March 2021, to a total of $21.7 billion, a record high for the month of March. The results are largely due to a 17.2% increase in prices for all items of the trade balance in the period, the ministry said.

“There is a growing demand for Brazilian products at higher prices,” Herlon Brandao, Brazil’s Undersecretary of Intelligence and Foreign Trade Statistics, said Friday.

Latin America’s largest economy also raised its 2022 forecasts for imports and exports amid the global commodities rally. For the full year, the government now sees a 24.2% increase in exports to $348.8 billion, and a 8.1% rise in imports to $237.2 billion, leading to a $111.6 billion surplus.