Brazil more than doubled the volume of its oil exports to China, with export values also nearly doubling, in the first quarter of 2026 from a year earlier, as the Middle East conflict and the closed Strait of Hormuz are re-arranging global commodity flows.
The value of Brazil’s crude oil exports to China surged by 94.6% to $7.2 billion in the first quarter, per Brazilian government data compiled by the Brazil-China Business Council. The volume of oil exports, 16 million metric tons, was 122% higher compared to the first quarter of 2025, according to the data reported by China Daily.
As China, and Asia as a whole, lost a major crude supply stream from the Middle East due to the closed Strait of Hormuz, buyers turned to alternatives in the latter part of the first quarter to partly offset the worst supply disruption in the history of oil markets.
China boosted imports from Brazil and other sources in March, although official figures point to Chinese refiners slashing total imports by 20% in April, to the lowest level since July 2022, amid soaring prices and disrupted flows through Hormuz.
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Brazil’s share of total Chinese crude imports jumped from around 10% in January to about 18% in April, even as China’s overall import demand weakened, data showed earlier this month. The 1.43 million barrels per day of Brazilian crude that Chinese refiners received last month is the highest monthly reading on record, surpassing the previous record posted in February.
“Brazil benefits from higher oil export values,” geopolitical analyst Marco Fernandes, a member of the BRICS Civil Council, told China Daily.
“Given that the price per barrel has doubled from December 2025 levels, Brazil could set an export record this year, especially if the war drags on. However, this situation also exposes a Brazilian weakness: the country’s insufficient oil refining capacity,” the analyst added.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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