SAO PAULO: Oil has surpassed soybeans as Brazil’s top export, an unprecedented performance that underscores the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) host’s status as a fossil fuel champion.
The value of Brazilian crude exports rose 5% to US$44.8bil in 2024, the first time oil eclipsed all other foreign sales for Latin America’s biggest economy, according to Trade Ministry data released on Monday.
The volume of oil shipments rose 10%. China was the primary destination for Brazilian barrels with roughly 44%, followed by the United States, Spain and the Netherlands.
Tumbling soybean prices and a drop in sales volumes helped oil’s ascent to the top, said José Augusto de Castro, executive president of Brazilian Foreign Trade Association. Castro expects the oilseed to regain the No. 1 spot this year with exports of US$49.5bil.
“As the agricultural harvest recovers, it is possible that soybeans will once again become the main export product,” Herlon Brandao, the Trade Ministry’s statistics director, said during a media briefing.
The South American powerhouse was the world’s eighth-largest crude supplier in 2023, driven by state-controlled driller Petrobras.
Overall output from Brazilian wells averaged roughly 3.4 million barrels a day last year, according to industry group IBP. Since 2016, the Brazilian oil sector’s foreign trade has shown a positive net balance.
