Brazil Exports to European Union Jump 30.7%

Containers at the port of Vitória in Espírito Santo state, file photo, 2017. (Photo: Alacoolwiki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

BRAZIL · TRADE

Brazil exports to the European Union jumped 30.7% in the first five months of the new Mercosur–EU trade deal, official trade data show. From May to September 2026, Brazil sold US$27.3 billion of goods to the 27-nation bloc, up from US$20.9 billion a year earlier.

For American companies, the deal means European rivals are gaining easier access to Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy. It also shows Brazil building new outlets for its oil, metals and farm goods while trade with Washington stays tense.

What the Trade Data Show

The figures come from Comex Stat, the public trade database of Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC). Its foreign trade secretariat, Secex, records every export by month, product and destination.

Sales to the EU climbed in every month from May to September compared with 2025. September alone brought US$6.95 billion, about 60% more than the US$4.34 billion of September 2025.

The contrast with the months before the deal is sharp, since exports to the EU rose just 6.2% from January to April. Over the first nine months, Brazil exports to the European Union reached US$44.17 billion, up 20%.

Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira credited the treaty at a ceremony in Brasília on Tuesday 13 October, the state news agency Agência Brasil reported. “The Mercosur–European Union agreement alone, from May until now, has meant a 30% expansion of our exports,” he said.

Oil, Copper and Soybeans Led the Rise

Crude oil remained Brazil’s biggest sale to the EU, worth US$6.21 billion from May to September against US$4.24 billion a year earlier. Copper ore and concentrates more than doubled, to US$2.38 billion from US$1.07 billion.

Those two raw materials alone account for about half of the US$6.4 billion increase. Soybeans rose 49% to US$2.05 billion, and soymeal, a protein feed for European livestock, rose 22.5% to US$2.14 billion.

Not every product gained, and some of Brazil’s best-known exports to the EU fell. Coffee sales slipped 8.4% to US$2.38 billion, and fruit juice sales dropped about 36%.

Smaller lines grew fast from a low base, including poultry, salted meat and frozen beef. Frozen beef sales to the EU rose 38.5% to about US$380 million in the five months.

The container ship Kota Santos off the coast of Brazil, file photo, 2024. (Photo: Wilfredor, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

How the Mercosur Deal Works

Mercosur is the South American trade bloc founded by Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Its deal with the EU came after almost 27 years of negotiations and took provisional effect on 1 May 2026.

The European Commission confirms that this interim trade agreement has applied provisionally since that date, when the first tariff cuts took effect. It will be replaced by a wider partnership agreement once that treaty is fully ratified.

Under the treaty, the EU will remove import duties on about 95% of goods, covering 92% of what it buys from Brazil. Some cuts apply at once, while others are phased in over 4 to 12 years.

Mercosur opens more slowly, cutting duties on about 91% of goods, or 85% of the value Brazil imports from the EU. Its schedules run up to 15 years, and longer for electric and hydrogen vehicles.

What It Means for You

For US exporters, Mercosur’s gradual tariff cuts for European goods mean tougher competition in Latin America’s largest economy over the coming years. Brazil’s imports from the EU rose 3.1% to US$22.5 billion from May to September.

Brazil exports to the United States grew far less, rising 1.6% to US$16.5 billion over the same five months. Development Minister Márcio Elias Rosa called the current moment in relations with Washington “delicate” but said Brazil would not walk away from negotiations.

Investors holding US-listed shares of Brazilian oil, mining and farm companies now have a fast-growing European market to watch. The EU took US$27.3 billion of Brazilian goods in those five months, far more than the US$16.5 billion sold to the United States.

What Is Not Known

Officials have not published an estimate of how much of the 30.7% rise came from lower tariffs. Higher prices, bigger harvests and new oil output can also lift sales, and the data do not separate these effects.

It is also unclear whether sales can keep this pace, since September alone supplied about 40% of the five-month gain. The European Commission gives no date for full ratification of the wider partnership agreement, which it lists as still being adopted or ratified.

More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much did Brazil’s exports to the European Union grow?

Brazil exports to the European Union rose 30.7% from May to September 2026, to US$27.3 billion. In the same months of 2025, Brazil sold US$20.9 billion of goods to the bloc.

When did the Mercosur–EU trade deal take effect?

The trade part of the deal took provisional effect on 1 May 2026, after almost 27 years of talks. Tariff cuts are phased in, so many duties fall gradually over several years.

Which products drove the increase?

Crude oil and copper ore made up about half of the US$6.4 billion gain, with soybeans and soymeal also rising. Coffee and fruit juice sales to the EU fell over the same months.

Does the deal affect American companies?

Yes, because Mercosur is cutting duties on most European goods, which helps EU firms compete with US exporters in Brazil. Brazil exports to the United States rose only 1.6% from May to September.

Sources: Brazil Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC/Secex), Comex Stat, data to September 2026, accessed 14 October 2026; European Commission, Directorate-General for Trade: EU–Mercosur agreement, accessed 14 October 2026; Brazil Foreign Trade Portal (Siscomex), Mercosur–EU agreement factsheet, 2026; Agência Brasil, 13 October 2026; A Crítica (Agência Brasil), 13 October 2026.

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