A recent and surprising study found that Brazil produces about 19 new millionaires each day, and has since 2007. Although, looking at the country more closely, the stat shouldn’t be too shocking; Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world (by size and population) and in the past few years its booming economy has moved nearly 30 million people into the middle class.


Zepol’s TradeView data shows that Brazil’s growth is potentially due to its increased exports in natural resources like mineral oils (HTS code 27), and coffee and tea (HTS code 09), which are both multi-billion-dollar-a-year industries for the country.

Over the past five years, Brazil’s mineral fuel exports to the United States have almost doubled. As of November 2011, the growth has continued with a 15.8% increase compared to 2010.

In terms of coffee and tea, Brazil is the leading exporting country to the United States. Coffee and tea exports are more than two times what they were in 2007 and are consistently rising. As of November 2011, exports are up 56% from 2010 and 123% from 2009.

Brazil’s economy is certainly not recession-proof with many of its imports and exports showing drops in 2009, but the overall impact has not hindered the country’s development. Another economic boost worth mentioning is Brazil’s city of Rio de Janeiro, which is hosting the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Overall, the South American super power of Brazil is on the rise and doesn’t appear to be slowing down soon.   

With the World Cup kicking off in South Africa today, we at Zepol were curious to know what effect the excitement leading up to the tournament has had on shipments of soccer balls to the U.S.

A search run in TradeIQ™ reveals that soccer ball shipments spiked in May, with 144 total shipments to the U.S., or 14.88% of all shipments since June 2009. May also saw a 51.58% increase in total shipments over April.

The graph below depicts the monthly number of soccer ball shipments from the top five exporting countries since May 2009.

Further analysis shows that this spike in soccer ball shipments is not unique to South Africa’s World Cup. TradeIQ™ shows a similar spike in total shipments in May 2006, the month prior to Germany’s World Cup. Years in which a World Cup tournament did not occur show less total shipments relative to World Cup years.

Furthermore, when comparing shipments during the month prior to the World Cup in both 2006 and 2010, we see that total soccer ball shipments to the U.S. increased by 15.2% since the last World Cup, with 125 shipments in May 2006 versus 144 shipments in May 2010.

The graph below depicts the trend in soccer ball shipments to the U.S. during the month of May since 2006. World Cup years are circled in red.