The Transport Costs of Brazil's Exports: A Case Study of Agricultural Machinery and Soybeans

This report is a case study aimed at shedding some light on the magnitude and determinants of Brazil's exporting costs. Two exporting firms were selected to provide information on these costs: one exports primary goods (soybeans), while the other exports manufactured goods (agricultural equipment). It is shown that non-policy trade costs tend to be much higher than policy trade costs, especially in the case of Brazil's exports of soybeans. International freight costs are also significant in the case of agricultural equipment. Therefore, much larger cost reductions might be achieved through cuts in non-policy trade costs than in policy trade costs.