EN 
PT_BR 
In the first nine months of 2025, São Paulo's agribusiness maintained a strong performance in foreign trade, achieving a surplus of US$16.81 billion. The positive balance resulted from exports totaling US$11.15 billion and imports totaling US$14.34 billion.
The analysis prepared by the Agribusiness Research Directorate (Apta), linked to the Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply of São Paulo, shows that the share of São Paulo's agribusiness exports in the total exported by the state from January to September 2025 was 40.3%, while imports from the sector corresponded to 6.6% of the total in the state.
Photos: Claudio Neves
The sugar and ethanol complex accounted for 29.9% of the total exported by São Paulo's agricultural sector, totaling US$6.32 billion. Sugar represented 92.1% and ethyl alcohol – ethanol, 7.9%. The meat sector followed closely with 14.9% of the sector's external sales, totaling US$3.15 billion, with beef accounting for 84.9%. Forest products accounted for 10.5% of the exported volume, totaling US$2.21 billion, with 54.5% of cellulose and 36.4% of paper. Juices accounted for 10.2% of the total, totaling US$2.15 billion, of which 97.7% refers to orange juice. The soybean complex closed the top five groups with a share of 9.9% of the total exported, registering US$2.10 billion, with 80.8% referring to soybeans and 14.0% of soybean meal. These five groups represented 75.4% of São Paulo's agribusiness exports. Coffee appears in sixth position, with a 6.4% share of the export agenda, totaling US$1.35 billion.
It is worth highlighting that the variations in values, compared to the same period last year, showed increases in sales for the coffee (+43.4%), meat (+26.3%), and juice (+4.6%) groups, and decreases in the sugar and ethanol complex (-33.6%), forestry products (-5.6%), and soy complex (-0.8%) groups. These variations in foreign trade revenues are derived from the combination of fluctuations in both prices and export volumes.
China remains the main destination with a 24.2% share, mainly acquiring products from the soybean complex, meats, sugar, and forestry. The European Union follows with a 14.4% share, and the United States accounts for 12.7%, purchasing juices, meats, other animal products, forestry products, coffee, sugar and ethanol, and other plant-based products.
Agricultural exports from São Paulo to the United States from January to September 2025 totaled US$2.69 billion, an increase of US$131 billion compared to the same period in 2024. This increase occurred in the first seven months of 2025, before the US government imposed tariffs of US$501 billion on August 6th. However, in August and September 2025, agricultural exports from São Paulo fell by US$14.2 billion and US$32.7 billion, respectively, compared to the same months in 2024.
The juice group, which was not affected by the tariff increase, is the main group in the export agenda to the United States with a 34% share. Meanwhile, the meat (15%), coffee (8.5%), and forestry products (9.4%) groups were affected by the 50% tariff increase and registered a decrease in September 2025 compared to September 2024.
Exports destined for the United States ended up in other destinations, according to Apta's director, Dr. Carlos Nabil Ghobril. "The volume was reduced less than initially expected, but it ended up being redirected to other countries: China, Mexico, and Argentina," he says.
São Paulo's participation in national agriculture
In the national scenario, São Paulo's agribusiness maintained a prominent position, accounting for 16.7% of the sector's exports in Brazil, occupying the 2nd position in the ranking, just behind the state of Mato Grosso (17.4%). Minas Gerais follows (11.5%).
