Brazil’s trade balance posts USD 7.74B surplus in September

Brazil's trade balance saw a surplus of USD 7.74 billion in September, a significant increase more than doubling the figure from the previous September of USD 3.14 billion. This improvement was primarily driven by exports, which surged by 12.9 percent during the period, according to data released by the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services on October 6.

Key figures reveal that exports amounted to USD 34.42 billion, up 12.9 percent from the previous September, while imports dropped by 2.4 percent to USD 26.68 billion. The trade balance, the sum of exports and imports, reached USD 61.09 billion in September, marking the highest figure recorded for that month in history and the second-highest monthly total.

The surge in exports was led by the extractive industry, followed by the manufacturing sector and agribusiness. The extractive industry's exports rose 39.8 percent, followed by manufacturing at 5.3 percent, and agriculture and livestock at 4.8 percent. Notable products contributing to this growth included crude oil up 77.3 percent, copper ore 74.2 percent, soybean meal 47.7 percent, fuels 39.1 percent, soybeans 11.9 percent, unroasted coffee 8.7 percent, and rye and oats surged by an astonishing 31,200 percent.

Exports expanded across most of Brazil's major markets, including the United States, despite trade tensions, and continued to grow to Asia. However, they remained stable in South America. The growth was seen in all key regions - Europe up 51.9 percent, North America up 30.6 percent, South America stable, and Asia down 2.5 percent. Despite new tariffs on Brazilian products, sales to the United States rose by 31.9 percent in September, though they fell 6.5 percent year-to-date.

Imports, on the other hand, declined slightly in September, primarily due to a drop in capital goods by 29.8 percent and intermediate goods by 2.4 percent. This decline was driven by the economic slowdown caused by high interest rates, which is reducing investment in machinery by the manufacturing sector, the primary buyer of machinery.

Year-to-date in 2026, Brazil recorded a trade surplus of USD 62.4 billion, up 34.8 percent from the previous period. The exports increased by 10.4 percent to USD 264.65 billion, while imports rose by 5 percent to USD 222.26 billion. Despite this growth, the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services has revised its 2026 projection downward, lowering the estimated surplus from USD 90 billion to USD 84.4 billion.

Even with this adjustment, the result would still be the second-highest annual trade surplus since the historical series began in 1989, surpassed only by 2023's record USD 98.8 billion surplus.