Last month, shipments reached $8.8 billion, a fall of 10.5 per cent over August 2011.

According to the ministry, the products were most significant in the export market for the year were soy beans, with exports of $21.4 billion, meat products ($10 billion), sugar and alcohol ($ 7.8 billion), forestry products ($6 billion) and coffee (U$4.1 billion).

The items that registered the greatest growth in foreign sales were fibres and textile products, with growth of 62.5 per cent, live animals (53.4 per cent), soy products (20.3 per cent), beverages (17 per cent) and tobacco (16.1 per cent).

Over the last 12 months, agribusiness shipments totalled $96 billion, growth of 8.8 per cent over the previous 12 months.

Exports to China grew the most, by 46.1 per cent. The ministry said other export hot spots were Egypt, with growth of 40.9 per cent, Venezuela (36.2 per cent), Thailand (33.3 per cent) and South Korea (31.8 per cent).