Brazil’s forests generated an economic output valued at BRL 47.9 billion in 2025 – the highest figure ever recorded in Brazil, up 6.7 percent from the previous year.

The data cover natural or planted forests and are part of a survey released Thursday (Sep. 24) by the statistics bureau IBGE.

The institute takes into account silviculture – when production comes from planted areas – and extractive activities, which refer to originally natural green areas.

Silviculture soars

Silviculture jumped 8.6 percent from 2024 to 2025, reaching BRL 41 billion. Plant extraction moved in the opposite direction and fell 3.1 percent, totaling BRL 6.9 billion.

In the late 1990s, silviculture and extractive activities alternated as the main drivers of forest production. Since then, however, production from planted areas has skyrocketed, reaching 85.6 percent in 2025, leaving only 14.4 percent for plant extraction.

The survey notes that, since 2019, the economic value of silviculture has grown by 165 percent. According to the institute, this is due to technological advances. In 2025, planted forests totaled 10.4 million hectares (104,000 km²).
 

Eucalyptus and cellulose

Of this area, 78.6 percent is planted with eucalyptus, a fast-growing tree maturing in about seven to eight years, used primarily in the manufacture of cellulose, a key raw material for paper production.

Brazil’s silviculture makes the country the world’s largest producer and exporter of cellulose, a position it has held since 2022, when it surpassed Canada.

The study also reports that Brazil’s global prominence is driven by climatic conditions and soil that are favorable to rapid forest growth, as well as “investments in sustainable practices, which make it highly competitive in the international market.”

In 2025, Brazil produced 22.2 million metric tons of cellulose, 12.7 percent more than in the previous year.

In terms of value, the figure was USD 10.2 billion – a 3.9 percent decline over the past year. As a commodity, the price of cellulose is directly influenced by the global market.

The IBGE explains that prices fell due to “global oversupply, a slowdown in Chinese consumption and the resulting increase in inventories, and exchange rate factors, such as the appreciation of the real.”

Cellulose was Brazil’s eighth-largest export in 2025. The top three exports, in order, were petroleum, soybeans, and iron ore.

Food products

The report also found that food products accounted for BRL 2.2 billion in production value.

Half of this amount came from açaí (251,000 metric tons), with two-thirds of this production (66.7%) coming from the Northern state of Pará.

Yerba mate ranked second among non-timber products, with BRL 562.3 million. Of all the yerba mate harvested in the country, 88.4 percent came from the state of Paraná, in South Brazil.

Petrobras announced on Wednesday (Sep. 23) that it had signed a memorandum of understanding for strategic cooperation in the oil and gas sector in Mozambique, a country on the southeast coast of Africa.

The agreement was signed with the National Hydrocarbons Company (ENH), the Mozambican government’s commercial arm for oil and gas exploration, production, processing, marketing, and distribution.

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Among the document’s objectives are joint efforts in studies, evaluation, development, and marketing, as well as the exchange of knowledge and technical expertise. The agreement is valid for two years and may be extended.

Focus on natural gas

Mozambique, a country with a population of about 30 million, shares with Brazil the legacy of having been a Portuguese colony, which explains why the two countries speak the same language.

According to the National Petroleum Institute of Mozambique, a state agency, the country stands out as a major source of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Foreign companies are already operating in the country, including France’s TotalEnergies, US-based ExxonMobil, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Italy’s Eni, Portugal’s Galp, and South Africa’s Sasol.

Petrobras in Africa

This week’s move marks another step by Petrobras toward strengthening its presence on the African continent.

The state-owned company operates in Ivory Coast, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, and South Africa. In August 2026, it began negotiations for exploration blocks in Ghana, on the west coast of Africa.

This expansion into Africa marks a return to the region. In the early 2000s, the company operated in countries such as Nigeria, Tanzania, Angola, Benin, Gabon, and Namibia, but those stakes were later sold.

In addition to Brazil and Africa, Petrobras operates in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, and the United States.

Petrobras has signed an exploration contract to search for oil off the equatorial margin of Côte d’Ivoire. The Brazilian company will have the right to explore eight offshore exploration blocks.

The contract with the West African country was signed Thursday (Sep. 17) in Abidjan, the economic capital and seat of government. The Brazilian company was represented by Sylvia Anjos, Petrobras’ executive director of exploration and production.

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The contracts are under a production-sharing arrangement. Petrobras will operate in the country through its subsidiary Petrobras Netherlands B.V. (PNBV), which will hold a 90 percent stake in the blocks and serve as the exploration operator. The remaining 10 percent will be held by the Ivorian state-owned company Petroci Holding.

According to a statement from Petrobras, the initiative is in line with the strategy to replenish oil and gas reserves through exploration in new frontier areas, both in Brazil and abroad.

High potential

The company emphasizes that the agreements secure a stake in exploration areas “with high potential on the African equatorial margin.”

The company’s president, Magda Chambriard, stated that the new deal gives Petrobras a “significant presence” in Côte d’Ivoire, “a country located in a region with high exploration potential, with geological characteristics similar to those of our sedimentary basins.”

“We will apply our experience and technical expertise to these blocks, and we are confident that, with them, we will be able to unlock all the possibilities we believe exist on the African Atlantic margin,” she added.

Petrobras around the world

The contracts in Côte d’Ivoire mark a step forward for Petrobras in oil and gas exploration in Africa and around the world.

On the continent, the state-owned company also operates in Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, and South Africa. In August 2026, the oil giant began negotiations for exploration blocks in Ghana.

This expansion into Africa marks a return to the region. In the early 2000s, the company operated in Nigeria, Tanzania, Angola, Benin, Gabon, and Namibia, but those interests were later sold.

The Americas

In addition to Brazil and Africa, Petrobras is involved in oil exploration and production in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, and the US.

In June 2026, the company signed a memorandum of understanding to establish strategic and technical cooperation with the state-owned company Pemex, with a focus on the Gulf of Mexico.

In the first half of 2026, Petrobras achieved the highest profit margin among a group of major international oil companies, surpassing giants such as Saudi Aramco and the US companies ExxonMobil and Chevron.

The numbers can be found in a study released Wednesday (Sep. 16) by the United Federation of Oil Workers (FUP), which brings together unions representing more than 105,000 workers in the oil industry. The survey is coordinated by economist Cloviomar Cararine of the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (Dieese), a research institution linked to the labor movement.

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The study compares the financial results of major oil companies since 2020. This is the first time Petrobras has topped the profit margin rankings.

Margin vs. profit

Profit is the amount of money left over for the company after costs, expenses, and taxes have been deducted. Profit margin, on the other hand, gauges the company’s efficiency by showing what proportion of revenue (total sales – such as fuel, crude oil, and petroleum products) actually turns into profit.

For example, if a company has a net margin of 15 percent, it means that for every BRL 100 in sales, BRL 15 remains as net profit for the business after all costs, expenses, and taxes have been paid.

In the Dieese ranking, Petrobras tops the list, with a margin of 29.15 percent in the first half of 2026. During that period, the Brazilian state-owned company reported net income of BRL 85.1 billion.

The profit margins of the major oil companies surveyed are as follows:

• Petrobras – 29.15 percent;
• Saudi Aramco – 25.48 percent;
• Chevron – 18.01 percent;
• ExxonMobil – 16.33 percent;
• BP (UK) – 14.83 percent;
• Equinor (Norway) – 12.84 percent;
• Shell (Anglo-Dutch) – 9.94 percent;
• TotalEnergies (France) – 9.44 percent.

From 2020 through 2025, Saudi Aramco had the highest profit margin. In all of those years, Petrobras ranked second, with the exception of 2024.

The data are based on information disclosed by the companies themselves. The researcher did not include Chinese companies, such as Sinopec and PetroChina in the tracking.

Factors behind efficiency

The economist believes this unprecedented result reflects the company’s “high operational efficiency.”

The performance, he added, was sustained by increased production, rising international oil prices (a result of the war in the Middle East), reduced overhead costs, and the fact that it remains an integrated company that both produces and refines oil.

Cloviomar Cararine argues that this combination gives Petrobras a greater ability to weather crises than its international competitors.

In the second quarter of 2026, Petrobras’ oil and natural gas production reached an all-time high, totaling a daily 3.34 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe, a unit derived from converting natural gas into oil energy equivalent, which allows the two products to be combined).

About 30 percent of what was produced was sold overseas (996,000 barrels per day).

The company also set an all-time record for the refinery utilization factor, reaching 101.2 percent. The higher it is, the closer the refineries are operating at full capacity.

After suffering from unfavorable weather conditions in 2024, Brazil’s agricultural sector reached 345.4 million metric tons of grains, legumes, and oilseeds in 2025. This volume is 18.2 percent higher than that recorded the previous year, when production was hampered by the effects of El Niño.

The value of production – which combines the physical volume produced with the prices charged at sale – totaled BRL 927.2 billion, an 18.4 percent increase compared to 2024.

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The data were released Thursday (Sep. 17) by the statistics bureau IBGE.

Increase in cultivated area

The survey also shows that, for the first time, Brazil surpassed the 100-million-hectare mark for cultivated area. The 100.6 million hectares recorded in 2025 represent a 4.4 percent growth compared to the previous year.

Soybeans

According to the survey, soybeans accounted for more than one-third (34%) of the value of Brazilian agricultural production (BRL 315.2 billion), a performance that maintains Brazil’s position as the world’s largest producer and exporter of this oilseed.

The soybean harvest grew by 14.4 percent year-on-year, reaching 165.2 million metric tons – 20.8 million metric tons more than in 2024.

IBGE explains that the international landscape contributed to the stabilization of soybean prices.

“The current situation shows that the trade war between the US and China led China to increase its demand for Brazilian soybeans, keeping domestic prices for the commodity stable throughout the final months of the year.”

The top agricultural products by production value in 2025 are:

Soybeans – BRL 315.2 billion;
Corn – BRL 122.1 billion;
Sugarcane – BRL 108.9 billion;
Coffee (beans) – BRL 100 billion;
Cotton (seed cotton) – BRL 40.6 billion.

Declines in electricity bills, food prices, and transportation costs caused August’s official inflation rate to close out the month at -0.32% – the lowest rate since August 2022, when the index reached -0.36%.

In July, Brazil’s consumer prince index IPCA, which is used to gauge the country’s official inflation, stood at 0.07 percent. In August 2025, it was -0.11 percent. The data were released Friday (Sep. 11) by the statistics bureau IBGE.

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August’s negative change brought the index’s 12-month cumulative total to 4.22 percent – the lowest figure since March 2026 (4.14%). In July, the cumulative total had stood at 4.44 percent.

Last month’s figure came in below market estimates. Last Tuesday’s (8) Focus market readout – a Central Bank survey of financial market participants – projected August inflation at -0.23 percent. For the end of 2026, the market expects inflation to be five percent.

The inflation target set by the National Monetary Council is three percent, with a tolerance of 1.5 percentage points (p.p.) above or below, meaning a range of 1.5 to 4.5 percent.

Since the beginning of 2025, the target assessment period has covered the immediately preceding 12 months, rather than just the figure reached at the end of the year (December). The target is considered missed if inflation exceeds the tolerance range for six consecutive months.

Drivers

Of the nine groups surveyed, four showed deflation in August.

• Food and beverages: -0.34% (impact of -0.07 p.p.);
• Housing: -1.87% (-0.29 p.p.);
• Household goods: 0.64% (0.02 p.p.);
• Clothing: 0.12% (0 p.p.);
• Transportation: -0.86% (-0.17 p.p.);
• Health and personal care: 0.23% (0.03 p.p.);
• Personal expenses: 1.30% (0.13 p.p.);
• Education: 0.47% (0.03 p.p.);
• Communication: -0.09% (0.00 p.p.).

Housing experienced its deepest deflation since the start of the Real Plan in 1994. The reason for this is the Itaipu Bonus – a discount consumers received on their monthly electricity bills, which fell by an average of 7.63 percent. The bonus consists of distributing the positive balance from the trading account of Itaipu, a state-owned hydroelectric plant, which is credited to electricity bills.

Of all the components of August’s IPCA, the electricity bill was the factor that most significantly pulled the index downward.

Food

The decline in food and beverage prices marked the third consecutive drop. In July, prices fell by 0.67 percent; in June, by 0.24 percent.

Food is the group with the greatest weight in the official inflation, accounting for 21.5 percent of Brazilians’ monthly consumption basket.

Index

The IPCA measures the cost of living for households with incomes between one and 40 minimum wages. In total, prices are collected for 377 sub-items, comprising products and services. The figures are calculated across ten metropolitan regions across Brazil.

Brazilian industrial production grew 0.2 percent from June to July, ending two consecutive months of decline. As a result, the sector has accumulated a 1.1 percent increase so far in 2026 and a 0.6 percent expansion over the past 12 months.

Compared to July 2025, the country’s industrial output fell by 0.5 percent. The quarterly moving average, which helps identify the sector’s recent trajectory, contracted by 0.8 percent.

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The data are part of the monthly industrial survey, released Wednesday (Aug. 2) by the statistics bureau IBGE.

According to the data, the cumulative 12-month increase (0.6%) represents a “slight slowdown” compared to the cumulative figure through June 2026 (0.7%).

Trends

The survey reveals that three of the four major economic categories showed growth from June to July:

• durable consumer goods – 3.2%;
• capital goods – 2.4%;
• semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods – 0.5%;
• intermediate goods – -0.2%.

Diffusion index

The diffusion index showed that 69.6 percent of the 789 products surveyed posted positive performance from June to July. This is the second-highest figure of the year, second only to March (80.6%).

The Brazilian economy grew 0.5 percent in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the first quarter. According to IBGE, Brazil’s government statistics agency, GDP reached BRL 3.4 trillion during the period. The data were released on Tuesday (Sep. 1).

Compared with the second quarter of 2025, the total value of goods and services produced in the country rose by 2 percent.

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• Unemployment drops to 5.3%, lowest for the quarter ending in July.
• Brazil’s public debt rises 0.22% in July, exceeds BRL 9.2T.
• Brazil federal tax revenue rises 8.97% in July.

Over the past four quarters, GDP expanded by 1.9 percent.

The Focus bulletin, a Central Bank survey of financial market institutions released on Monday (Aug. 31), projects 1.92 percent GDP growth for 2026.

Production

GDP can be calculated from the perspective of production, which analyzes economic activity, or expenditure, which includes consumption and investment.

From the production perspective, agriculture and livestock stood out, with a 2.8 percent increase from the first to the second quarter. Over 12 months, the increase reached 6.2 percent.

Manufacturing rose 0.1 percent from the first to the second quarter and 1.4 percent over 12 months, with the extractive industry standing out, surging 3.4 percent quarter-on-quarter.

The services sector, which accounts for the most employment in the economy, grew 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter and 1.7 percent over 12 months. The information and communication subsector led the increase, at 2.1 percent.

Gross Fixed Capital Formation, an indicator of investment, grew 1.2 percent during the quarter.

Demand

From the demand side, government consumption rose 0.4 percent, while household consumption declined by 0.4 percent.

In the external sector, exports fell 0.8 percent, while imports rose 1.8 percent compared with the first quarter of 2026.