The Ceará fur and leather sector reached a significant milestone in its exports, recording the best performance since 2021. The data is from the “Ceará em Comex” study, conducted by the International Business Center (CIN) of the Federation of Industries of the State of Ceará (Fiec). The most recent report, referring to the months of January and February this year, revealed an accumulated export of US$7.01 million, representing an increase of 36.9% compared to the same period of the previous year.
In the first two months of 2024, total exports from Ceará reached US$ 208.54 million, with São Gonçalo do Amarante resuming leadership among exporting municipalities, totaling US$ 61.90 million. Next come Fortaleza, with US$39.80 million, and Sobral, with US$26.17 million. In addition to the growth in sales of fur and leather, traditional sectors such as fruit and derivatives, fish and footwear also maintained their relevance in foreign trade.
However, despite these advances, the study revealed a 44.5% drop in Ceará exports compared to the previous year. As a result, Ceará now occupies 16th place in the national ranking of exporting states and 4th place in the regional ranking.
Imports also showed a decline, totaling US$446.02 million. This number represents a reduction of 4.1% compared to the same period in 2023.
Analysis of the trade balance accumulated up to February 2024 points to a worsening of Ceará’s deficit, which reached US$237.49 million, an increase of 165.6% compared to the previous year. Faced with this challenging scenario, the study highlights the urgent need for effective strategies to reverse this negative trend.
