Abiquim: chemical industry trade deficit back up 15.1% from January to August

The deficit of the trade balance in the chemical industry are in downward trend this year, reflecting the economic downturn and the consequent reduction in imports. Data from the Brazilian chemical industry Association (Abiquim) indicate that the negative balance totaled $ 17.3 billion between January and August, representing a fall of 15.1 percent over the same period last year.
The reduction is explained by the shrinkage of 13% on imports, to a total of $ 25,9 billion. Exports, in turn, totaled $ 8.7 billion, a fall of 8.7% in the same comparative basis. The retraction of the external purchases at a pace faster than exports is also a reflection of the most favourable to the national producer in dispute with foreign manufacturers.
The numbers of Abiquim show that the pace of imports slowed in August, the month that the dollar remained at higher levels. External purchases reached $ 3.2 billion, a fall of 26.9 percent over the same period in 2014. Already exports totaled $ 1.1 billion in August from 11.1% shrinkage in the same comparative basis. Compared to July, imports shrank 19.9%, against a fall of 17.4% of exports.
"It is clear that the unstable economic scenario and the high level of prices of the imported chemicals were decisive for the retraction of the sector deficit and, by the end of the year, the strong slowdown of the real against the dollar and the reflections of new measures of tax adjustments will impact even more indicators of the Brazilian foreign trade flow of chemicals" highlighted in note the Director of Foreign Trade Affairs, Abiquim Denise Naranjo.
In the last 12 months, between September 2014 and August this year, the chemical industry's trade deficit reached US $ 28.1 billion, reduction of 9.8% as compared to the same period last year. The number is also lower than the deficit of $ 31.2 billion earned in 2014.
Despite the reduction of the trade deficit, the chemical industry is facing a period of growing concern, as a result of the federal Government's decision to eliminate some incentives to the industry. In the specific case of the chemical industry, the Government announced earlier this week his intention to terminate the tax benefit provided for under the Special Regime of the chemical industry (ReiQ). In addition, the Government announced that the Special procedure of reintegration of Tax Values for exporting companies (Returned), valid for all exporters, will be reduced from the current 1% to 0.1% in 2016.
The measures have been criticized by the Executive Chairman of Abiquim, Fernando Figueiredo. With a deficit still around $ 30 billion a year, the industry sees the package announced by the federal Government as a barrier to foreign competition. "Once again we hit the competitiveness of Brazilian industry in General and, in particular, the chemical industry," said Forbes in an interview with report last Monday.