The four uppermost factors of Rio Grande do Sul exports in 2012

Abstract

ABSTRACT The current paper seeks to understand the performance of Rio Grande do Sul exports in 2012. Historically RS is one of the main exporter states in Brazil, be it in agricultural products or in the manufacturing industry. The 2012 year was unusual, with the export sector facing very diverse obstacles simultaneously, which had an important impact on the external sales. The 2012 performance of the external sector can be explained by four factors that together were responsible for the decrease in the RS exports and also explain why the performance was worse than the national average: (i) the drought that reduced soy crops in 2012, (ii) the Argentinean barriers to imports, (iii) the Russian embargo to the gaucho exports of meat, (iv) the fall of the international demand for products due to the reduction in the global economic rhythm. Key-words: gaucho exports; gaucho economy; drought