Brazil's trade surplus exceeds expectations in March
Beef exports jump 40.1%
7 April 2025
1 minute read
By: Brazil posted a higher-than-expected trade surplus in March, government data showed on Friday, boosted by a surge in coffee, beef, and soy exports, reported Reuters.
Latin America's largest economy recorded a trade surplus of $8.2 billion for the month, surpassing the $7 billion expected in a Reuters poll of economists.
The result marked a 13.8% increase from the surplus seen in March last year, supported by a 5.5% rise in exports, to $29.2 billion, while imports grew at a slower pace of 2.6%, reaching $21 billion.
The biggest highlights were coffee shipments, which jumped 92.7% from a year earlier, followed by beef exports, up 40.1%.
Soy exports, despite a more modest 7% increase from a year earlier, remained by far the country's top-selling product, totalling $5.7 billion.
In the first quarter, however, the trade surplus fell 46%, as imports rose 13.7% on the back of a resilient economy, while exports remained largely stable.
The Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services projected on Friday that Brazil will record a $70.2 billion trade surplus this year, down from $74.2 billion in 2024.
