Demand for cattle is high in the country because meatpackers are rushing to increase exports to China, Brazil’s main customer, while there is still room in the reduced tariff quota. As a result, the industry expects the quota to be fully filled by May.

Datamar data shows that Brazil exported 7,780 TEUs of beef to China in January 2026, marking a 4.8% year-over-year (YoY) increase. The following chart, compiled using intelligence from the DataLiner platform, details the monthly outbound shipments of Brazilian beef to the Chinese market:

Beef Exports to China | Jan 2023 – Jan 2026 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Since the beginning of the year, China has imposed safeguards on beef imports from different suppliers and established a quota of 1.1 million tonnes imported from Brazil with a 12% tariff. For extra quota exports, the rate is 55%.

Roberto Perosa, president of the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporting Industries (ABIEC), said on Wednesday that Brazil should fill its entire beef export quota to China by the first week of May. During a cattle farming meeting held by Scot Consultoria in Ribeirão Preto, Perosa said there was an acceleration of shipments in March after the Lula administration decided not to create a control system to regulate exports. As a result, he said, the volume exported in the first three months has already exceeded 40% of the 1.1 million tonne quota.

He noted, however, that Chinese authorities have not yet consolidated the figures for last month.

Experts consulted by Valor believe that prices tend to remain high until the Chinese quota is filled. “There may be price volatility [with the filling of the quota],” said Thiago Bernardino, a researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (CEPEA).

He noted, however, that beef supply is low in countries important to the global market, such as the United States, where the cattle herd is the smallest in decades. This would prevent the price per arroba of beef from falling much worldwide.

In Brazil, cattle supply also remains tight for now, forcing a rise in prices, he said.

For Alcides Torres, director of Scot Consultoria, the Chinese quota was the main factor in changing the market dynamics, as it accelerated purchases of cattle for slaughter and subsequent export of meat. As a result, total shipments reached a historical high for the month of March this year.

Data from Brazil’s Foreign Trade Secretariat (SECEX) released on Tuesday (7) show that shipments of Brazilian fresh beef totaled 233,950 tonnes in March, up 8.6% over the year before. The average price also rose, 18.7%, to $5,814.80 per tonne.

According to Perosa, from ABIEC, the Chinese quota is the main concern of the beef industry today, since negotiations for a revision of the volume have not progressed and there is no prospect of a quick opening of new markets for the beef that would go to China.

In practice, the quota has reduced the market for Brazilian beef in China, since the Asian country had imported a total of 1.68 million tonnes in 2025.

Perosa said he does not believe that a triangulation of Brazilian beef to China via Vietnam, which opened its market to Brazilian beef last year but consumes more buffalo, or via Hong Kong, which imports offal from Brazil and sends it to China, is viable.

He also noted that the quota system created by Beijing will likely also be in force for 2027 and 2028, which means that it will be necessary to continue seeking alternative markets.

For Perosa, China’s justification for imposing quotas is political, lacking any technical basis, because Chinese livestock farming is unable to supply the product at competitive prices.

“The Chinese safeguard measures affect all countries, but Brazil suffered the biggest reduction [in exports]. They must have thought they could take more from Brazil because the impact wouldn’t be as great, since we export many other commodities [to China], like soybeans. But it has a huge impact on our sector because China was the destination for 46% of our beef exports last year,” he lamented.

According to him, the solution is to continue negotiating, focus on opening new markets where beef consumption is high, and increase productivity.

Despite the changes in the dynamics of beef exports, there are no signs of change in cattle feedlots in 2026, according to Alcides Torres of Scot. “According to our own estimate, this year we should have between nine and ten million head in feedlots, but it has nothing to do with this dynamic caused by the imposition of the Chinese tariffs,” he said.

He noted that events such as the FIFA World Cup and the October elections in Brazil tend to support domestic consumption, which contributes to the continuation of the sector’s plans to invest in intensive cattle finishing.

Source: Valor International

The report compiled shipment data for Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Israel, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and Egypt.

Exports of 40 categories of poultry meat and offal to those countries fell 21% year over year in March, dropping from 138,000 tonnes to 108,000 tonnes. There were no shipments of these products to Iran in either March 2025 or March 2026.

By contrast, corn exports to the 15 Middle Eastern countries rose 24%, reaching 907,000 tonnes. Shipments to Iran—the largest buyer of Brazilian corn—nearly came to a halt, falling from 304,000 tonnes in March 2025 to just over 1,000 tonnes in March this year.

Meanwhile, volumes shipped to Egypt surged 1,171.5%, and Brazil exported 26,000 tonnes to Iraq, a market that had received no Brazilian corn shipments a year earlier.

Total exports of poultry meat and offal rose 6.9% to 468,700 tonnes, while overall corn exports increased 12.8% to 983,000 tonnes.

Source: Valor International

The textile industrial production index fell 23.9% year on year in January, the lowest level in the available series dating back to 2016, according to a March report by the Argentine Textile Industries Federation (FITA). FITA said the decline was driven by drops of more than 30% in segments such as “fabrics and finishing” and “cotton yarns,” contrasting with a milder 3.2% decline in overall manufacturing.

The downturn has been building. The Pro Tejer Foundation’s economic bulletin said textile production was down 27.8% compared with two years earlier. Capacity use underscores the contraction: in January 2026, the sector operated at just 24% of its productive potential, far below the economy-wide industrial average of 53.6%, according to the same sources.

Industry groups said the slump is also showing up in employment. Textiles, apparel, leather and footwear shed 12,000 formal jobs over the past year, totaling 100,000 positions as of December 2025, they said. Since late 2023, the accumulated losses exceed 20,000 jobs, and Pro Tejer said the sector posted the largest percentage employment decline across Argentina’s private economy.

The deterioration at home has unfolded alongside fast growth in online retail. Argentina’s e-commerce market expanded 55% in 2025, outpacing inflation of 31.5%, industry data cited in the reports showed. But the growth has been increasingly driven by purchases from abroad, a trend that now includes 47% of online shoppers, according to the latest annual e-commerce study by the Argentine Chamber of E-Commerce (CACE) and Kantar.

In that survey, Temu was the most used platform among consumers who buy from overseas, at 41%, followed by Shein at 31%, ahead of traditional players such as Amazon, the study showed.

Local brands have felt the shift in demand, industry sources said. E-commerce platform Tiendanube reported nominal revenue for non-sports apparel fell 14%, which it linked in large part to the rise of Chinese platforms. The Observatorio Pyme Foundation said 88% of small and mid-sized firms in the segment cited falling sales as their main problem, while 68.4% said they faced an “import threat,” the highest reading across industrial sectors.

Imports: finished goods up, production inputs down

Foreign trade data points to a structural split. FITA said imports of final products, particularly clothing, rose 54% in volume and 27% in value in February. Over the first two months of the year, imports of finished apparel jumped 82% in tonnes and 53% in dollars, it said.

Datamar container movement data reveals a 39% surge in inbound TEU volumes within Argentina’s fabric garments during January and February of 2026. The following provides a detailed breakdown of these import trends:

Fabric Garments Imports | Argentina | Jan 2023 – Feb 2026 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

At the same time, imports of key inputs needed for local production, such as yarns, raw materials and fabrics, fell more than 35% in volume and more than 50% in value, FITA said, arguing the pattern suggests factories are buying less because they are producing less, while domestic demand is increasingly met by foreign goods.

FITA also warned of growing under-invoicing in textile imports, saying more than 70% of incoming products were declared at values well below historical references and, in many cases, below the cost of the main raw material. FITA cited cases such as cotton T-shirts imported for less than $0.01, towels below $0.30 per kilogram and jeans below $1, calling the practice a source of market distortions and unfair competition for local producers.

Pro Tejer said that in the first 10 months of last year, total textile and apparel imports reached 332,696 tonnes, up 89% year on year. Within that, made-up goods rose 217% and garments 166%, setting record highs in import volume, it said. Observatorio Pyme added that 37% of industrial SMEs reduced their share of the domestic market due to foreign competition, the highest since 2007, and said China was identified as the main source of the import threat by 73.3% of firms.

Prices have not kept pace with the strain on producers, the groups said. The “clothing, leather and footwear” category posted no monthly change in February 2026, but Pro Tejer said the slowdown reflected negative profitability, with many sales taking place below cost amid weak consumption and demand shifting toward imports.

Source: Forbes Argentina

“There is a competitive gap with Chinese brands in the market that needs to be addressed,” said Antonio Filosa, the company’s regional president, at a press conference in São Paulo. “An equalization mechanism for this type of competition should be designed and implemented.”

According to Filosa, China’s structural competitiveness is the result of two decades of coordinated industrial policy and investment, creating a highly efficient production ecosystem. He also pointed to excess industrial capacity in China, which is increasingly being directed to external markets.

“With the U.S. market largely closed and Europe debating the issue, South America—and Brazil in particular—has become a primary destination,” he said.

Filosa said it is still difficult to assess the full impact of current tariffs, given the large volume of vehicles imported in previous months that are still in transit or being distributed.

“What needs to be done is to technically measure this gap and define how to translate it into an equalization mechanism, whether through existing global tools or a specific solution—not just tariffs,” he said.

The company suggests that the Brazilian government and the National Association of Vehicle Manufacturers (Anfavea) conduct a technical study to quantify the gap and design an appropriate policy response.

Filosa cited the United States as an example, noting that the country imposed tariffs of up to 100% on Chinese-made electric vehicles and adjusted CO₂ requirements to avoid an unintended contraction in the domestic market.

“In our view, the U.S. administration carried out a technical assessment to understand this competitiveness gap and determine how to protect the sustainability of its auto industry,” he said.

In Brazil, however, Filosa described operations as stable and growing, in contrast with challenges faced by the group in other regions.

“South America is performing very well. It is not a source of concern—on the contrary, it represents an opportunity,” he said.

Despite strong sales performance, he noted that profitability is under pressure due to high costs and logistical bottlenecks, which make local production more expensive than in other markets.

“The weight of logistics costs in the structure of a Brazilian-made vehicle is higher than in Europe or North America,” he said.

Leapmotor partnership

Stellantis said it plans to begin production of vehicles from Chinese brand Leapmotor in Brazil in the first quarter of 2027, with two models to be manufactured at its Goiana plant in the state of Pernambuco.

The partnership makes Brazil the first country outside China to produce Leapmotor vehicles. The models—B10 and C10—will use Stellantis technology that combines an internal combustion engine to power an electric drivetrain.

“We are setting up the production line and training personnel. It is a strong technical partnership,” Filosa said, adding that full operations should be in place by early next year.

Founded in 2015 in Hangzhou, Leapmotor produces electric and hybrid vehicles. Stellantis acquired a roughly 20% stake in the company in 2023 and established a joint venture to expand the brand internationally.

Asked about the apparent contradiction between advocating protection measures and partnering with a Chinese automaker, Filosa said the company’s strategy differs from that of pure exporters.

“Our approach is different. We localize production and a large share of components, including the engine,” he said.

Middle East

Stellantis said it is monitoring the conflict in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, and warned that rising inflation and shifting demand could affect operations.

“There is significant market volatility in a complex geopolitical environment,” Filosa said.

Operations in the Gulf region—including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia—are already facing disruptions, with some decline in sales volumes expected.

“We are already anticipating some volume losses, which are manageable for now. But much depends on how long the geopolitical crisis lasts,” he said.

Filosa added that inflation remains a key risk, depending on the persistence of global volatility.

“Volatility and inflation are real risks ahead,” he said.

Source: Valor International

Santos Port Authority (APS) said it granted priority to the MH Ibuki, which arrived from the maritime terminal of Madre de Deus in the northeastern state of Bahia. The state-owned authority said it allowed the ship to move ahead in the queue due to the risk of fuel shortages in Sao Paulo state.

The coastal shipping operation was completed on March 30, with the discharge of 17,974 tonnes of Type A gasoline, equivalent to about 600 fuel tanker trucks.

APS President Anderson Pomini told CNN Brasil that queue priority is an exception granted when a specific cargo needs to be unloaded quickly due to an extreme event, such as a potential fuel shortage in a given region.

“As a rule, there is a queue that must be respected, but APS reviewed a request from a distributor and assessed that it was necessary to contribute to federal guidelines to help maintain fuel supply and avoid shortages in Sao Paulo state, as warned by ANP,” Pomini said, referring to Brazil’s oil regulator, the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels.

Amid the conflict involving Iran, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has prompted a reassessment of global oil routes. In that context, direct imports from Russia, for example, have gained traction and become more sought after by other countries. The shift has pushed fuel prices higher and driven a reorganization of sourcing, according to the report.

The fuel unloaded in Santos on March 30 came from the Mataripe refinery, one of Brazil’s main refining units and the largest in the Northeast, the report said. The aim of the faster flow is to rebalance supply in Sao Paulo.

APS’ operations directorate said it has received multiple requests to prioritize fuel ships, which are being reviewed.

Despite clearing the vessel from Bahia, the directorate denied another request for priority from a fuel company, citing other ships already ahead in line.

“In other words, if we are giving berthing priority for fuel supply, one fuel cargo cannot jump ahead of another,” Operations Director Beto Mendes said.

Original text by Fabricio Julião for CNN Brasil

The project requires an initial investment of 100 million reais and is scheduled for completion in 2026. Once finished, it will allow two ships to berth simultaneously and will prepare the terminal to handle larger vessels. The Port of São Francisco do Sul is the state’s largest by cargo throughput.

Part of a broader modernization plan

The pier expansion is the first phase of a broader plan to modernize and expand the terminal.

In addition to the 100 million reais already approved for this stage, Solaris, the concessionaire that operates TESC, is seeking federal approval for a new investment cycle estimated at more than 500 million reais. The company expects a decision from Brazil’s Ministry of Ports and Airports in early May 2026.

“This is only the first step in a transformative project for TESC,” said Stéphane Frappat, CEO of Solaris. “We are preparing the terminal for a new level of capacity, efficiency and competitiveness, in line with the evolution of Brazilian foreign trade.”

Expansion to coincide with Babitonga Bay dredging

The work is also expected to position the terminal to benefit from the Babitonga Bay dredging project, which is set to deepen the access channel to a 16-meter draft.

The deeper channel would enable TESC to receive larger-capacity ships and vessel classes above those currently calling at the terminal, according to the company.

Solaris said it expects the project to boost the terminal’s competitiveness mainly in fertilizers, soybeans, corn, soybean meal, sugar and other dry bulk cargoes, while also strengthening its general cargo operations, including steel products and project cargo.

Source: ND Mais

Exports rose from US$ 457 million in the same period of 2025, extending a strong growth trend following record results in both 2024 and 2025.

According to journalist Lauro Jardim, from O Globo, the performance highlights Brazil’s expanding footprint in the international defense market.

Germany, Bulgaria, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Portugal were among the main destinations for Brazilian defense products. The sector’s global reach is significant, with exports currently reaching 148 countries across all continents.

The industry includes around 93 exporting companies operating across different segments of the production chain.

Source: Brasil 247

The resources were approved during the 62nd meeting of the fund’s board and include a project submitted by Oceânica Engenharia e Consultoria S.A., which plans to build the vessel at ENAV Reparo Naval Ltda, expanding local shipyard capacity and strengthening service supply for maritime navigation demand.

Ports and Airports Minister Tomé Franca said the projects support more balanced development of Brazil’s shipbuilding sector by expanding activity across different regions. “We are expanding the presence of the shipbuilding industry in different regions, with job creation and strengthening productive capacity,” he said.

Otto Luiz Burlier, Brazil’s national secretary for waterways and navigation, said the investment highlights the role of public policy in regional development. “This investment expands shipbuilding capacity in the South and strengthens service supply for navigation. It is an action that boosts the local economy and creates job opportunities in the region,” he said.

Fund’s role

The Merchant Marine Fund is one of Brazil’s main financing tools for shipbuilding and the waterborne transport sector. In recent years, the fund has increased the volume of approved investments, focusing on fleet modernization, job creation and strengthening national productive capacity.

The fund’s activity helps stimulate regional economies by supporting the shipbuilding supply chain, from shipyards to equipment and service providers, while also boosting employment and income and contributing to workforce training and local development.

The measure is part of the federal government’s policy to strengthen Brazil’s shipbuilding industry, aiming to increase competitiveness and expand the country’s capacity in waterborne transport.

Source: MPOR

In its latest Latin America and the Caribbean Economic Review, the Washington-based lender said Argentina expanded 4.4% in 2025 and is expected to grow 3.6% in 2026 and 3.7% in 2027. If met, the forecasts would mark a milestone: Argentina has not logged three consecutive years of GDP growth since 2008, the report said.

“The Argentine economy has emerged as the main upside exception, as stabilization and reforms have improved expectations and financial conditions,” the World Bank said, noting the country’s projections stand above the regional average growth rates it forecasts of 2.1% in 2026 and 2.4% in 2027.

Will Maloney, the World Bank’s chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, said Argentina’s growth projection is slightly lower than what the institution had expected months earlier, but he described the 3.6% estimate for 2026 as still strong by regional standards. Maloney also warned about an acceleration in inflation in recent months.

Maloney said concerns about external competition are understandable as the economy opens, arguing that greater openness can help companies become more efficient, but that the region has relatively few firms operating at the technological frontier. As a result, he said, many companies could struggle, while it remains too early to say which new firms might emerge to create jobs.

The World Bank credited Argentina’s fiscal consolidation under President Javier Milei with strengthening the overall program. The report cited efforts to rationalize public spending, cut administrative inefficiencies and retarget energy-price subsidies away from higher-income households as measures that helped anchor inflation expectations and compress sovereign risk.

The lender also described Argentina’s improved fiscal dynamics as another “exception” in a region marked by fiscal fragility and rising borrowing costs, and pointed to a decline in country risk and a “pro-growth agenda.” It cited the creation of the RIGI investment incentive regime and progress on trade deals, including with the United States.

Despite the upbeat growth outlook, the World Bank warned that Argentina faces “significant downside risks,” particularly tied to the external sector, debt and the flow of dollars. It highlighted substantial external financing needs in a context of negative net international reserves and limited access to international debt markets.

In its regional comparison, the World Bank said Argentina stands out among the largest economies, even as it projects higher growth this year for some smaller countries, including Guyana (16.3%), Paraguay (4.4%), Suriname (4.0%) and Panama (3.9%). Among other big economies, it forecast more modest growth for Brazil (1.6%), Colombia (2.2%), Mexico (1.3%), Chile (2.4%) and Peru (2.7%).

Looking at the broader region, the World Bank attributed Latin America’s relatively slow growth to three main factors: high borrowing costs linked to fiscal capacity constraints, weak external demand and inflationary pressures stemming from geopolitical uncertainty, which it said weigh on private investment and job creation.

The report also highlighted what it called structural opportunities in Latin America, including the region’s share of global lithium reserves, copper resources and a relatively clean energy matrix, alongside a reform push gaining momentum in several countries. It urged governments to advance industrial and sector policies that encourage growth and emphasized restoring business confidence, unlocking private investment and boosting productivity.

The World Bank said the policy mix it recommends includes investment in education, technical training and management development to narrow skills gaps; expanding access to financing so firms can take risks; strengthening institutional capacity to design policies that can identify market failures; and deepening trade integration to lift competitiveness. In that context, it pointed to Argentina’s bilateral agreement with the United States and progress on the EU-Mercosur deal.

Original reporting by Por Esteban Lafuente for La Nación

Earlier ​this week, a court decision said ​a 12% tax enacted about a ⁠month ago, as oil prices spiked ​due to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, ​might be unconstitutional. A definitive ruling is still pending.

The court exempted TotalEnergies, Repsol Sinopec, Galp’s Petrogal, ​Shell, and Equinor from a tax ​on crude oil exports. Brazil’s state‑run oil firm Petrobras, ‌the ⁠country’s largest oil exporter, is not affected by the ruling.

“Naturally, we will appeal this decision,” Silveira said.

The 12% levy was ​imposed by ​President ⁠Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government as part of a package ​aimed at cushioning the impact ​on ⁠Brazilian consumers of a sharp rise in international oil and fuel prices triggered by ⁠the ​war in the Middle ​East.

Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier for Reuters