BRASÍLIA: Brazil posted a record trade surplus in the first nine months of the year, the highest for the period since the trade ministry began compiling figures in 1989. The surplus was US$53.3bn in January-September, up from US$36.2bn in the same period of 2016, according to the trade ministry.
In September, Brazil’s monthly trade surplus reached US$5.18bn, up from US$3.8bn in the same month of last year. The trade surplus for the period was fueled by the expansion of commodity exports, such as exports of oil, which increased 88.5%. Successive records during 2017 are prompting an upward revision of the trade surplus for this year, currently at US$60bn, according to Abrão Árabe Neto, secretary of foreign trade for the trade and industry ministry. “We have a surplus with growth in both exports and imports. In terms of exports, we have seen growth not only in value, but also in quantities exported in all product categories, as well as an increase in the number of exporting companies,” said Árabe Neto. The expansion in international trade is helping the country to restore its economic performance. After contracting 3.8% in 2015 and 3.6% in 2016, Brazil’s economy is expected to expand 0.70% this year, according to economists.
