Figures on trade between Brazil and China from January to August point to a significant drop in value throughout 2019, the Comex-DF editorial team reported.

Trade between the two countries reached US$93.13 billion in 2018, according to Brazilian figures (and US$110 billion according to Chinese figures), with Brazilian exports of US$63.93 billion and imports of Chinese products worth US$34.74 billion, providing a trade surplus for Brazil of US$29.2 billion.

Brazilian exports to China fell by 2.28% from January to August to US$45.532 billion and imports of Chinese products contracted by 2.26% to US$23.736 billion, resulting in a surplus of US$17.796 billion for Brazil.

José Augusto de Castro, president of the Brazilian Foreign Trade Association (AEB), told Comex that the figures available, although only for eight months of the year, point to what he called a “triple-negative trade surplus” as there will be drops in exports, imports and the balance of trade itself.

The AEB president also said he was concerned about the steady drop in trade with China and the drastic reduction in the trade surplus and issued a warning – “Increasing competitiveness is critical for Brazil to reduce its dependence on sales to China, as the Chinese economy is slowing down.”

Notwithstanding the contraction this year, China remains Brazil’s main trading partner, having been responsible from January to August for 27.9% of exports and 20.3% of Brazilian imports.

Figures from the Foreign Trade Secretariat of the Ministry of Economy point to a 3.2% drop in raw material exports, which this year have generated revenues of US$36.75 billion (88.5% share of sales to China) and a 15.1% decline in shipments of manufacturing products, which accounted for only 1.92% of total exports, worth US$799 million.