Even outside the 50% rate imposed by the United States, the Brazilian orange juice exporting sector can record immediate losses of $ 1.54 billion with Trump’s tariff. The estimate was released by Citrusbr (National Association of Citrus Exporters) on Tuesday (12).
In July, the US president signed one, such as orange juice, airplanes and oil. In all, about 700 categories will not be hit by the tariff.
The damage pointed out by Citrusbr stems from the economic unfeasibility of exports of sector by -products, which were left out of the list of exceptions.
According to the association, this segment contributed US $ 177.8 million in the previous crop – equivalent to R $ 973.6 million.
The estimated value of loss considers the impact of the base rate of 10% – reserved floor for countries with which the US maintains commercial surplus, or sell more than they buy from the nation – about orange juice, designed at $ 103.6 million ($ 566.7 million).
Citrusbr explains that citrus chain byproducts are widely used by both beverage and cosmetics industry in the United States, such as reconstituted juice.
About 58% of juice consumption in the US country is composed of this byproduct. After importation, this juice receives water until it reaches its natural dilution.
“Many of these products depend on ingredients such as citrus cells (orange gums) and essential oils responsible for the aroma, and these inputs are surcharged by 50%, which makes the operation unfeasible,” says Citrusbr Executive Director Ibiapaba Netto.
Netto says that this scenario can even have a negative effect on the consumer and harm American companies – therefore impacting the entire Brazilian chain, which still faces a challenging market context.
In addition to the tariff impact, the sector faces a strong retraction in international prices as a result of the 36% increase in the supply of fruits compared to the previous crop, according to Fundecitrus (citrus defense fund) data – private association maintained by citrusters and juice industries in the state of São Paulo.
The amount of the ton exported to the United States fell from $ 4,243 from the last harvest to $ 3,387 in early August.
This devaluation of more than 20% can impact the sector by another US $ 261.8 million (or R $ 1.43 billion), according to Citrusbr.
