Trade

Oil Tops Brazil Exports, Bolstering COP30 Host’s Challenge

Crude led Brazil’s foreign trade for the first time in 2024
Dual stance on fossil fuels clashes with Lula’s green ambition

Oil storage tanks at the Petrobras Angra dos Reis fuel terminal in Angra dos Reis, Brazil.Photographer: Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg

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By Mariana Durao and Beatriz Amat

January 6, 2025 at 7:17 PM UTC

Updated on

January 6, 2025 at 9:44 PM UTC

Oil has surpassed soybeans as Brazil’s top export, an unprecedented performance that underscores the COP30 host’s status as a fossil-fuel champion.

The value of Brazilian crude exports rose 5% to $44.8 billion in 2024, the first time oil eclipsed all other foreign sales for Latin America’s biggest economy, according to trade ministry data released Monday. The volume of oil shipments rose 10%. China was the primary destination for Brazilian barrels with roughly 44%, followed by the US, Spain and the Netherlands.