Bilateral trade between Argentina and Brazil reached US$ 1.016 million in April 2020, which meant a 44,7% year-on-year drop (when it reached US$ 1.836 million), and thus marked the largest decline since February 2009, the Argentine Chamber of Commerce (CAC) reported today.
This result was recorded due to a decrease in Argentine exports to Brazil (-40,6%), as well as imports from the neighboring country (-48,6%), which totaled US$ 539 million and US$ 477 million, respectively, based on data from the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.
"In this sense, the trade balance for Argentina showed a slight surplus - for the second consecutive month - of US$ 62 million in April, an increase of 31,9% in monthly terms. However, a reversal in the sign is observed with respect to April 2019, when a deficit of US$ 20 million was verified," the report detailed.
The drop in exports of cargo vehicles, passenger motor vehicles, auto parts and gasoline explained the fall in Argentine sales to Brazil, while imports were justified by the decrease in passenger motor vehicles, auto parts, cargo vehicles and iron ore.
«Regarding destinations, Argentina ranked fourth among Brazil's largest suppliers, behind China, Hong Kong and Macao (US$ 2.057 billion), "The United States (US$ 2.046 million) and Germany (US$ 726 million) were the main buyers of Brazil. In turn, Argentina ranked fifth among the main buyers of Brazil, behind China, Hong Kong and Macao (US$ 7.079 million), the United States (US$ 1.766 million), the Netherlands (US$ 678 million) and Spain (US$ 602 million)," the report said.
In the first four months of the year, trade flows between the two economies fell by 20% year-on-year, reaching US$ 5.507 billion, while Argentina's trade balance fell by 84,2%, showing a surplus of US$ 46 million compared to the US$ 288 million recorded in the same period in 2019. This performance is due to the decline in Argentine exports to Brazil (22,5%), which exceeded the drop in Argentine imports from Brazil (17,1%) in that period..
As for the rest of the world, Brazil's exports fell 5,8% year-on-year in April, from US$19.439 billion in 2019 to US$18.312 billion in 2020, and total imports fell 14,8% compared to those recorded a year ago (US$13.629 billion in 2019 vs. US$11.611 billion this year).
Thus, the trade result was a surplus, for the third consecutive month, at US$ 6.702 million for Argentina's main trading partner, 15,3% higher than the value of April 2019.
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
