Brazilian exports of coffee, sugar, and cotton have already surpassed the total for February 2023 in this month.
Cotton exports reached 146,3 tons, compared to just 43,16 tons in February of last year. Based on the daily average of shipments, this represents a 510% increase.
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian exports of coffee, sugar, and cotton in the period from February to the third week have already exceeded the total volumes recorded for the entire month of 2023, according to data from the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex) published this Monday.
During this period, cotton exports reached 146,3 tons, compared to just 43,16 tons in February of last year. Based on the daily average of shipments, this represents a 510% increase, with almost 15 tons shipped per day.
Among the main agricultural commodities exported by Brazil, the largest growth is in cotton shipments, whose international prices have registered gains of around 15% year-to-date and closed last week above 95 cents per pound on the New York Stock Exchange, marking the sixth consecutive weekly gain.
On the other hand, Brazil has good stocks from the last harvest and is on track for a record production in 2024, according to data from the National Supply Company (Conab).
Brazilian sugar exports, stemming from a record sugarcane harvest, have already totaled almost 1,8 million tons in February, compared to 1,1 million tons for the entire month last year.
In the coffee sector, shipments totaled 127,6 tons, compared to 122,4 tons in the entire month of February 2023 --Secex does not release comparable data for the same period of the previous year.
In the case of soybeans, exports increased by 4,4% based on the daily average of shipments, totaling 2,9 million tons in the first three weeks of February, versus 5 million tons in the same entire month last year.
Corn exports have already totaled 1,4 million tons this month and have the potential to surpass February 2023 (2,2 million tons) if the pace of shipments continues at the current rate, according to figures from Secex.
In the extractive industry, Brazilian oil exports have already surpassed the total for the entire month of last year, reaching 3,35 million tons, compared to almost 2,4 million in the same period. Based on the daily average, the annual increase is 153,6%, following a record high in the country's production last year.
(By Roberto Samora)