Global recession triggered by the new coronavirus could mean a drop of at least USD 18.6 billion in export revenues for Brazil, the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) reported. This is 8.25% of the USD 225.4 billion seen in exports from the country last year. These early projections are based on estimates that the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will shrink by 1.1% in 2020.

The Covid-19 pandemic is expected to decrease shipping by 56 million tons, or 11% of total volume shipped in 2019.

According to a CNI press release, this is a preliminary forecast, since it is based on a scenario of widespread global recession. The estimates do not include a breakdown of specific markets, because no country- or region-specific data is available yet. The organization said, however, that the impact on exports of industrial products will depend on actions taken by other Latin American countries, which are the primary destinations for manufactured items from Brazil.