Agribusiness exports to China hit a record in 2025

Brazilian agribusiness exports totaled US$ 169.2 billion in 2025, the highest value in the historical series, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. China remained the main buyer, with US$ 55.3 billion, 32.7% of the total and up about 11% from 2024. Soybeans remain at the center of this relationship: about 80% of the grain exported by Brazil went to the Chinese market. The record shows agribusiness's strength and, at the same time, how much it depends on a single customer.

What happened

According to the Ministry's data, released in January 2026, agribusiness exports grew 3% in 2025 over the previous year's US$ 164.3 billion and accounted for 48.5% of everything Brazil sold abroad. The agribusiness trade surplus closed at US$ 149.07 billion. After China came the European Union, with US$ 25.2 billion, 14.9% of the total.

CNN Brasil detailed China's weight by product in February 2026. China bought 87.1 million tonnes of Brazilian soybeans in 2025, about 80% of what the country exported, and Brazil's share of Chinese soybean imports rose to 73.6%, compared with 71% the previous year. In beef, China took 48% of the volume exported, 1.68 million tonnes and US$ 8.90 billion, up 22.8%. Forbes described 2025 as the year of Brazilian soy, with record volume in the soybean complex, 127.4 million tonnes between grain, meal and oil, and the search for new markets beyond China.

The Ministry also recorded the opening of niches: after being cleared in November 2024, Brazilian sesame had already generated US$ 195.1 million in sales to China.

Why it matters

A third of exported agribusiness depends on the purchasing decisions of a single country. That brings scale and income, and also risk: a tariff, sanitary or political change in Beijing moves the price of soybeans in Mato Grosso the next day. Tariff disputes between major powers show how this market can turn from one year to the next. Diversification exists, but it is still small: Forbes cited Pakistan, which went from almost no purchases of Brazilian soybeans in 2024 to US$ 554.9 million in 2025.

The record also has a cutoff. Exports to China are dominated by grains and meat, produced at scale and traded by large trading companies. The small grower, especially the fruit and vegetable grower who supplies the supply centers, takes little part in this flow. For them, diversifying destinations requires what large companies already have: international price information, logistics, certification and a safe way to get paid.

In Bairo's view

For Bairo Leandro Gonzalez Martinez, the record with China proves that Brazil knows how to produce for the world, but does not yet know how to include everyone in that sale. In his reading, Brazilian exports are concentrated in a few products, a few destinations and a few companies, and agribusiness's next expansion depends on opening this path to those who today sell only in the domestic market.

Bairo argues that growers and traders should see, side by side, the CEASA price, Conab data and the foreign market reference, and be able to connect directly with buyers in other countries. For him, a direct connection between those who produce, those who trade and those who buy, without taking the place of those who transport and grade the produce, is what allows small growers to diversify customers and depend less on a single door.

Where this meets the ecosystem

CEASA Bank is an agribusiness financial platform, founded by Bairo, that operates on the infrastructure of an authorized institution. It is not an authorized bank. The design proposed for the platform includes exactly the tools that separate small growers from foreign markets: quotes with artificial intelligence based on CEASA and Conab data, export freight calculation, invoices issued in a few minutes and account opening in the buyer's country.

The proposal also envisions that the invoice can be paid by bank deposit or by stablecoins, always through authorized institutions and in accordance with each country's foreign exchange rules. These are functions under construction, described as a proposal.

Sources

• Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, "Agronegócio brasileiro fecha 2025 com recorde em exportações de US$ 169 bilhões e superávit de US$ 149,07 bilhões" (Brazilian agribusiness closes 2025 with record exports of US$ 169 billion and a surplus of US$ 149.07 billion), January 2026: gov.br/agricultura
• Secom, "Exportações do agronegócio brasileiro atingem recorde de US$ 169 bilhões em 2025" (Brazilian agribusiness exports reach a record US$ 169 billion in 2025), January 2026: gov.br/secom
• CNN Brasil, "Comércio entre Brasil e China gera US$ 100 bilhões ao agronegócio" (Brazil-China trade generates US$ 100 billion for agribusiness), February 2026: cnnbrasil.com.br
• Forbes Brasil, "2025, o ano da soja brasileira com recorde e novos mercados além da China" (2025, the year of Brazilian soy, with a record and new markets beyond China), December 2025: forbes.com.br

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