Brazil's net exports closed out 2013 with a surplus of $2.561 billion, its lowest since 2001, when it closed out at $2.684 billion. The figure resulted from exports of $242.2 billion and imports of $239.6 billion. In December, there was a surplus of $2.654 billion, resulting from $20.8 bn exports and $18.1 bn imports.

The performance results, announced Thursday (Jan. 2) by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, are still within the government's expectations following the year's declining petroleum exports.
The Ministry's Foreign Trade secretary, Daniel Godinho, also reported lower foreign demand in the wake of the international crisis.

For this year, he anticipates that the foreign trade performance will depend on the petroleum bottom-line, as well as on the exchange rates, commodity prices, and the global economic conditions. Brazil's oil output is expected to grow as shutdown platforms resume, new platforms start operations, and the pre-salt production picks up.

Godinho noted that the dollar racked up a 15% hike in 2013 to close at 2.35 reais, but it did not affect exports: “[The impact of the dollar hike] tends to concentrate first around imports of consumable goods. On the export side, its effects take longer to be felt. What we do need is a stable exchange rate, so that business leaders can rely on greater predictability to plan their deals and increase their exports.”

As he points out, one drawback that may impact Brazilian exports in 2014 is the potentially falling prices of agricultural commodities. The government and the market forecast larger global supply and increasing pressure on prices. An additional concern is the uncertainties around economic recovery in the US and the European Union, two key trading partners who in 2013 bought less from Brazil, coupled with lesser growth prospects for China, another important market.