LatinNews Daily - 05 April 2024

*Brazil’s ministry of industry & trade has released figures showing a monthly trade surplus of US$7.48bn in March and a quarterly surplus of US$19.08bn for the first quarter of 2024. The export value in March totalled US$27.98bn, down 14.8% compared with March 2023. Imports totalled US$20.49bn, down 7.1% year-on-year. Agricultural exports in March were down 20.8% year-on-year at US$7.14bn; exports from extractive industries were down 23.9% at US$6.42bn; and manufacturing exports were down 6.2% at US$14.24bn. Monthly exports to China, Argentina, and the European Union (EU) saw year-on-year drops of 23.4%, 27.9%, and 31.6% respectively. Despite the slump in March, the trade surplus of Q1 2024 was up 22.2% from the same quarter last year, with a total quarterly export value of US$78.27bn (+3.2%). The quarterly agricultural export value was down 4.0% in yearly terms, but exports from extractive industries were up 18.7%. Exports to Brazil’s two largest trade partners, China and the US, were also up in Q1, registering year-on-year increases of 9.9% and 19.5% respectively.