In the first five months of the year, exports reached the highest historical value for this period, surpassing the previous record (January-May 2013). Imports also reached an all-time high for this period.
Highlights:
• In the first five months of the year, exports totalled US$35.9 billion, the highest historical value for that period, and exceeded by 13% the previous record of January-May 2013. They accumulate a y-o-y increase of 26.6%, which is explained by a rise in prices (22.6%) and, to a lesser extent, in quantities (3.4%).
• Imports totalled US$ 32.7 million in January-May (a 44.2% increase), hitting a record level for that period. They were driven by higher quantities and prices –at all-time highs– of Fuels and lubricants, and by increases in the prices of Intermediate goods and the quantities of Capital goods and their parts.
• The trade balance achieved a surplus at US$ 3.2 billion, US$ 2.5 billion less than the positive balance of January-May 2021, resulting from the greater pace of growth of imports than exports.
• Highlights include increases in wheat exports (US$ 1.8 billion), maize (US$ 998 million), crude oil (US$ 922 million) and biodiesel (US$ 655 million). The biggest falls correspond to the soybean complex: beans (−US$ 556 million) and flour and pellets (−US$ 261 million).
• It is worth stressing the increase in the prices of all the soybean complex products: oil, 45.6%; biodiesel, 38.1%; beans, 15.2%; and flour, 6.7%. In relation to the quantities, those of biodiesel (80.9%) increased, while those of beans (−82.7%), oil (−31.8%) and flours and pellets (−11.2%) decreased.
• Regarding imports, there stand out the highest purchases of diesel oil (US$ 1.5 billion), liquefied natural gas (US$ 622 million), fuel oil (US$ 325 million) and gasoline, excluding that for aviation, (US$ 273 million), while those of soybeans (−US$ 276 million) and motor vehicles mainly for the transport of people, with a capacity of >1,500 cm3 and <= 3,000 cm3, (−US$ 97 million), decreased.
• The three main partners, Brazil, China and the United States, absorbed as a whole 26.3% of the exports and supplied 52.0% of the imports in the first five-month period.
• The largest surpluses were seen in the trade with Chile (US$ 1.9 billion), the Netherlands (US$ 1.4 billion), India (US$ 1.4 billion), Peru (US$ 909 million), Indonesia (US$ 902 million) and Algeria (US$ 860 million).
• The highest deficits were recorded with China (−US$ 4.9 billion), Brazil (−US$ 1.6 billion), United States (−US$ 1.0 billion) Germany (−US$ 801 million) and Thailand (−US$ 587 million).
