{"id":27545,"date":"2026-06-05T08:10:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/belacereais.com.br\/2026\/soja\/soja-e-cobre-sustentam-superavit-comercial-de-us-78-bilhoes-em-maio\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T08:10:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:10:24","slug":"soja-e-cobre-sustentam-superavit-comercial-de-us-78-bilhoes-em-maio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belacereais.com.br\/en\/2026\/soja\/soja-e-cobre-sustentam-superavit-comercial-de-us-78-bilhoes-em-maio\/","title":{"rendered":"Soybeans and copper support a trade surplus of US$7.8 billion in May."},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Driven primarily by increased exports of soybeans and copper, Brazil's trade surplus reached US$7.823 billion in May, the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC) reported. This represents a growth of 10.8% compared to the same month in 2025, when the positive balance was US$7.059 billion.<\/p>\n

According to the historical series that began in 1989, this is the fourth largest surplus ever recorded for the month of May, behind only the results observed in 2023 (US$ 10.978 billion), 2021 (US$ 8.536 billion) and 2024 (US$ 8.302 billion).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Photo: T\u00e2nia R\u00eago\/Ag\u00eancia Brasil<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

During this period, Brazilian exports totaled US$31.904 billion, an increase of 6.61% compared to May of last year. Imports totaled US$24.081 billion, an increase of 5.31% on the same basis of comparison.<\/p>\n

The recorded values are also among the highest in the historical series for the month of May. Exports reached the second-best result ever recorded for the period, second only to May 2023. Imports, meanwhile, had the second-highest value in the series for the month, surpassed only by the result for May 2022.<\/p>\n

Accumulated<\/h4>\n

In the first five months of 2026, Brazil's trade balance accumulated a surplus of US$32.662 billion, a result 34.21% higher than that recorded in the same period last year. According to the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC), the performance was favored by the recovery in prices and export volumes of commodities, in addition to the absence of the import of an oil platform carried out in February 2025, an operation that significantly increased external purchases in that period and was not repeated this year.<\/p>\n

Between January and May, Brazilian exports totaled US$148.571 billion, an increase of 8.71 billion compared to the first five months of 2025. Imports reached US$115.908 billion.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Photo: Courtesy of the Port of Santos<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

billions, an increase of 3.2% in the same comparison.<\/p>\n

The accumulated balance is the third largest ever recorded for the period in the historical series, behind only the results observed in the first five months of 2024, when the surplus reached US$$ 35.227 billion, and 2023, with US$$ 34.540 billion.<\/p>\n

Sectors<\/h4>\n

In the sectoral analysis, Brazilian exports showed distinct behaviors in May compared to the same month last year. The agricultural sector registered growth of 9.81% of the total export volume (TP4T), resulting from a 6.11% increase in the volume shipped and a 2.81% increase in the average prices of exported products.<\/p>\n

In the extractive industry, exports fell by 1.9%, a performance mainly influenced by oil. The sector recorded a drop of 26.6% in export volume, partially offset by an increase of 33.8% in average prices.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Photo: Jonathan Campos<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The manufacturing industry, on the other hand, showed an expansion of 9% in foreign sales. This result was supported by an increase of 7.4% in the average prices of exported products and by a rise of 1% in the volume shipped.<\/p>\n

Products<\/h4>\n

Among the products that contributed most to the growth of Brazilian exports in May, agriculture was mainly driven by soybean sales, which increased by 14.61% compared to the same month last year. Raw cotton also stood out, with an increase of 45.31%, and unmilled corn, excluding sweet corn, whose exports advanced by 267.21%, also stood out.<\/p>\n

In the extractive industry, exports of crude oil fell by 9.31% of the total export volume (TP4T) and those of iron ore dropped by 15.21%. However, the negative performance of these products was partially offset by the strong growth in exports of copper ore, which registered an increase of 149.41% of the total export volume (TP4T).<\/p>\n

In the manufacturing industry, the main highlights were fresh, chilled or frozen beef, with growth of 50.21% of the time frame (TP4T), fuels, which advanced 75.21% of the time frame (TP4T), and non-monetary gold, with an increase of 56.71% of the time frame (TP4T) in exports.<\/p>\n

In absolute terms, soybeans were the product that contributed most to the growth of Brazilian exports in May. External sales of the grain increased by US$804.1 million in the year.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Photo: Roberto Dziura Jr.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Compared to the same month in 2025, these increases were driven by the progress of the harvest and rising prices. Copper ore followed, adding US$$ 617.9 million to the value of the country's exports during the period.<\/p>\n

In the case of crude oil, exports fell by US$390.8 million, with volume decreasing by 42.1%, despite a 56.7% increase in the average price, caused by the war in the Middle East. The drop in volume is partially related to the temporary 12% export tax on oil, imposed in mid-March as a measure to curb rising fuel prices after the start of the conflict.<\/p>\n

Despite the growth in agricultural exports, coffee sales plummeted in May. Last month, Brazil sold US$297.6 million less than in May 2025 (-24.5%). The drop was due to a reduction of 8.6% in volume and 13.4% in the average price.<\/p>\n

Imports<\/h4>\n

On the import side, growth was mainly driven by vehicle purchases from abroad. In May, imports in this segment increased by US$833.5 million compared to the same month in 2025, representing the main contribution to the expansion of foreign purchases during the period.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Photo: Claudio Neves<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In agriculture, the highlights were fish, whose imports grew by 38.1%, horticultural products, with an increase of 26.6%, and soybeans, which registered an advance of 24.4%.<\/p>\n

In the extractive industry, there was a strong increase in purchases of raw fertilizers, excluding manures, with growth of 68.4%. Imports of non-agglomerated coal also expanded, increasing by 59.8%, as did imports of lignite and peat, with a rise of 115.1%.<\/p>\n

In the manufacturing industry, imports of passenger cars stood out, growing by 80.11% of the time (TP4T), followed by fuels, with an increase of 45.21% of the time (TP4T), and thermionic valves and tubes, whose external purchases increased by 49% of the time (TP4T) compared to May of last year.<\/p>\n

Projections<\/h4>\n

For 2026, the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC) projects a trade surplus of US$72.1 billion, a value 5.91% higher than the positive balance of US$68.1 billion recorded in 2025. The estimate considers growth in both exports and imports throughout the year.<\/p>\n

According to the ministry's projections, Brazilian exports are expected to reach US$364.2 billion in 2026, an increase of 4.61% compared to the previous year. Imports, in turn, are expected to total US$5 billion.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Photo: Claudio Neves<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

280.2 billion, an increase of 4.21% on the same basis of comparison.<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC) updates its trade balance projections every quarter and has announced that it will release new detailed estimates for exports, imports, and the trade balance for this year in July. The largest surplus in the historical series was recorded in 2023, when the Brazilian trade balance ended the year with a positive result of US$98.9 billion.<\/p>\n

The government's forecasts are more conservative than those of the financial market. According to the Focus bulletin, a weekly survey conducted by the Central Bank with financial institutions, the expectation is that the Brazilian trade surplus will reach US$76.2 billion in 2026. The projection was revised upwards after the start of the conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

THE Bela Cereais<\/strong> works with the best grains on the market and also keeps you up to date with the latest news and analyses on agribusiness.
\nDon't forget to follow our social networks.<\/em><\/h6>\n

Access News Source <\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Impulsionado principalmente pelo aumento das exporta\u00e7\u00f5es de soja e cobre, o super\u00e1vit da balan\u00e7a comercial…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26602,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[259],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soja"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/belacereais.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/belacereais.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/belacereais.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belacereais.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belacereais.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/belacereais.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belacereais.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/belacereais.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belacereais.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belacereais.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}