The FGV-Foreign Trade Indicator (ICOMEX) releases monthly results from a set of balance of trade indicators, providing broad coverage of the external sector.
Balance of trade performance is an integral part of the situational analyses on the level of economic activity and the balance of payments. In the case of Brazil, which historically reports negative balances in services and income accounts, the balance of trade result has a decisive role in the evolution of the balance in current transactions. At the same time, the behavior of import and export flows is an integral part of studies on the competitiveness of Brazilian products in the medium- and long-term perspective.
The primary motivation for calculating the indicator was to provide information demanded by the FGV-GDP Monitor produced by IBRE and, as such, the methodology replicates the calculation of IBGE's Quarterly National Accounts. The data on imports and exports are classified by CNAE 2.0 and the indices presented were calculated using the Fischer method.
Main Uses:
Monitoring balance of trade performance.
Geographic Coverage:
National.
Breakdowns:
• Agricultural products;
• Mining products;
• Products from the manufacturing sector (by category of use);
• Brazilian import and export markets.
Frequency:
Monthly.
Historical Series:
1998.
