This is a translation of the original article in Portuguese. Read the original (Português).
Foreign products accounted for 28.3% of Brazil’s apparent consumption of industrial goods in 2025, the highest share since the series began in 2003. The data come from the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), according to the Brazilian newspaper O Guaíra.
Apparent consumption measures what the country consumes of industrial goods, adding domestic production and imports and subtracting what is exported. When the share of imports rises, domestically made products take up less space on store shelves and in companies’ purchasing lists.
China plays a central role in this trend. On its own, it reached 10.3% of Brazil’s industrial consumption, more than a third of the entire share held by products from abroad.
The result comes in a year of weak performance for factories. Manufacturing shrank 0.2% in 2025. At the same time, exports rose and came to equal 20% of production, showing that part of the industry found markets abroad despite pressure at home.
For readers, the data cuts both ways. On one hand, a greater inflow of foreign products tends to expand supply and give access to cheaper items. On the other, less room for domestic production means less pressure to hire, which can affect jobs and income in industrial regions.
The record is not an isolated episode. Being the highest point in a series that began more than two decades ago, it indicates that the share of imports in consumption has been gaining weight over time.
Reporting from O Guaíra (p. 17, caderno nacional).
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