10/02/2008 14h27
Despite the crisis, never has the Country sold so much basic products
O Estado de S. Paulo - 10/02/2008
The fall in the prices of commodities in the last weeks has not prevented the expressive increase of the participation of basic products in the Brazilian exportation list. Those items represented 37.1% of all sales of Brazil abroad in the period from January to September of this year, the biggest index since 1983. On the other hand, the participation of manufactured products retreated 52.7% in the first nine months of 2007 to 46.6% in the same period of 2008, the smallest percentage since 1980, according to data published by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade yesterday. Exportations and importations reached the second biggest monthly value in history in September, reaching US$ 20.02 and US$ 17.26 billion, respectively. The trade surplus was US$ 2.76 billion. The basic products gained space in the trade balance because of the increase in the prices of commodities in the first months of the year. This shows the vulnerability of the Brazilian exportations to the variations of prices in the international market. The Ministry's secretary of Foreign Trade, Welber Barral, evaluated that the fall in the prices of commodities has not been felt in exportations yet. For him, the effects of an international crisis will only be felt in the trade balance in 90 days' time, if the credit restriction in the international market is kept. But the government already studies ways to guarantee financing for exporters. Despite having lost participation in the Brazilian agenda, foreign sales of manufactured products broke a record in September, totaling US$ 9.29 billion, a 4.9% increase compared to September of 2007. The results were influenced by the sale of a module of oil rig to the United States, in the value of US$ 862 million. The exportations of basic products grew 44.5% and semi-manufactured products' 32.6%, compared to last year's September. As for importations, the purchase of consumption goods grew 48.2% compared to September of 2007, while raw-material's had a 41.3% increase and those of capital goods 35.8%. Fuel and lubricant importations grew 32.8%. Barral evaluated that the increase in value of the US dollar in the last days, if kept, can reduce importations in the last months of the year. As for exportations, the effect should only be felt in the next year. Also according to data of the Ministry of Development, Brazilian exportations and importations accumulated in the period from January to September of 2008 reached record values for the period. Foreign sales totaled US$ 150.87 billion and importations US$ 131.21 billion. The trade surplus accumulated in the year diminished to US$ 19.66 billion, compared to US$ 30.94 billion registered in last year's same period. Even with the financing crisis of the United States, Brazil could expand sales to that market by 15% this year.
