Pandemic makes Brazil even more reliant on China

The global economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus crisis is changing the profile of Brazilian exports. And it continues to increase Brazil’s dependence on its undisputed top trading partner, China. Data from the Special Foreign Trade Secretariat shows a 7-percent drop in overall exports during the first half of 2020, which falls in line with the expected economic contraction for the economy this year. According to the latest Focus Report — a Central Bank-led weekly survey with market analysts — the median forecast for the Brazilian economy is a 5.66-percent contraction by the end of 2020.

Exports to China over the first six months of the year amounted to USD 34 billion — twice what was sold over the same period in 2015. On the flip side, however, sales to the U.S. and Mercosur countries dropped 32 and 29 percent, respectively.

China has topped the list of Brazil’s trading partners since 2009 and gobbled up 33.7 percent of Brazilian exports in the first half of 2020. 

The impact of the coronavirus on imports was smaller, however, at just 5.21 percent. But these numbers show a more equal split among Brazil’s three main partners: China, the European Union, and the U.S.

Commodities continue to carry Brazilian exports

The Covid-19 pandemic has hit some sectors harder than others. With regard to Brazil’s foreign trade, industry has clearly slipped out...