Brazil Import Trade Data: $252.71B in 2023, Down 13.6%

China and the USA Supply Nearly Two-Fifths of Brazil's Imports

Brazil imported $252.71 billion worth of goods in 2023, the latest year with verified trade data in this dataset. That total marks a decline of 13.6% from the $292.34 billion recorded in 2022, easing from the highest annual figure in the five-year span this dataset covers. China was the largest supplier, providing 22.2% of the total, worth $55.98 billion.

United States ranked second at 15.9% ($40.19 billion), ahead of Germany at 5.4% ($13.62 billion) and Argentina at 4.9% ($12.42 billion). Russia took fifth place at 4.4% ($11.13 billion), followed by India at 2.8% ($7.18 billion) and Italy at 2.4% ($6.09 billion). Mexico took eighth place at 2.3% ($5.78 billion), France added 2.2% ($5.68 billion), and Japan rounded out the top ten at 2.1% ($5.40 billion). Together, the top three suppliers made up 43.4% of total import value.

Russia's fifth-place position on this list is easy to overlook but tells an important story about the other side of Brazil's trade profile. Insper's Agro in Data reports that Brazil's import-to-consumption ratio for the NPK fertilizer complex topped 90% in 2023, with a significant share of that supply coming from Russia despite the broader sanctions environment following the war in Ukraine. That dependence connects directly to Brazil's export side, where soybeans, corn, and sugar, all fertilizer-intensive crops, rank among the country's largest export categories. China and the USA's combined share of nearly 38% reflects the world's two largest economies supplying everything from electronics and machinery to industrial inputs, while Germany, Argentina, India, and Italy round out a supplier base built on manufacturing and regional trade ties rather than any single commodity relationship. Mexico, France, and Japan close out the top ten with smaller shares still, each tied to Brazil through a mix of automotive, aerospace, and specialty manufacturing supply chains rather than a single dominant product category.

Fuel and Machinery Lead a Diversified Import Mix

Mineral fuels, mineral oils and related distillation products led all import categories in 2023, worth $38.98 billion and accounting for 15.4% of total import value. Machinery and mechanical appliances, boilers and nuclear reactors followed closely at 14.2% ($35.97 billion), and electrical machinery and equipment ranked third at 11.8% ($29.76 billion).

Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock added 7.7% ($19.35 billion), while fertilizers contributed 6.3% ($16.01 billion). Organic chemicals brought in 5.5% ($14.02 billion), and pharmaceutical products added 4.4% ($11.24 billion). Plastics and articles thereof contributed 3.9% ($9.74 billion), optical, photographic and medical instruments added 3.0% ($7.70 billion), and chemical products not elsewhere classified closed out the top ten at 2.9% ($7.31 billion).

Fuel, machinery, and electrical equipment together make up more than four out of every ten dollars of import value, a combination typical of a large, industrializing economy that still relies on imported energy and capital goods to keep its factories and vehicles running. Fertilizers' presence in the top five is the clearest link back to Brazil's agricultural export engine: the same farms producing the soybeans, corn, and sugar that dominate the export list depend on imported nutrients to sustain yields at scale. Organic chemicals and pharmaceutical products point to a manufacturing and healthcare sector that still sources a meaningful share of specialized inputs from abroad, while plastics and precision instruments round out a list weighted toward industrial and technical goods rather than everyday consumer products. Notably absent from the top ten is any category dominated by finished apparel, footwear, or basic consumer electronics, suggesting Brazil's domestic manufacturing base still covers a meaningful share of everyday goods even as it imports heavily for energy, machinery, and specialized industrial inputs.

A Strong Climb, Then a Pullback

Brazil's imports followed a mostly upward path over the past five years before pulling back. Imports fell from $193.16 billion in 2019 to $166.34 billion in 2020, likely reflecting disrupted shipping and softer demand during the early stages of the global pandemic, then climbed sharply to $234.69 billion in 2021 and further to a five-year high of $292.34 billion in 2022, before declining 13.6% to $252.71 billion in 2023.

The 2023 pullback moves in the same direction as the modest decline on Brazil's export side over the same period, though the import side's percentage drop is considerably larger, suggesting demand for imported goods cooled faster than overseas demand for Brazilian exports. For a closer look at how individual partner countries or product categories break down year over year, the data panels above provide the full detail behind these figures.