Smuggling and piracy generated record losses of R$514 billion in 2025

Brazil faced losses exceeding R$514 billion due to counterfeiting, smuggling and piracy in 2025, according to the ABCF (Brazilian Association to Combat Counterfeiting) yearbook.

The data was released this Wednesday (27), and refers to losses in tax revenue and revenue losses in legally established industries.

According to the document, last year, there was an 8% increase in losses related to counterfeiting, smuggling, piracy and the illegal market compared to the previous year.

The association points out that the value represents a record milestone in losses for companies and public coffers. Among the sectors that recorded the biggest losses last year are:

- Alcoholic drinks: R$89.5 billion
- Clothing: R$55 billion,
- Fuel: R$30 billion
- Sports equipment: R$32 billion
- Perfumery: R$22.8 billion

Also according to the Yearbook, another industry that has suffered significant losses is auto parts. According to ABCF, the loss recorded in 2025 by the sector was R$13 billion.

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This Tuesday (26), during the inauguration of the new board of directors of the Mixed Parliamentary Front in Defense of Intellectual Property and Combating Piracy, deputy Julio Lopes (PP-RJ) cited concern about the situation in the sector.

"We held an event in Rio de Janeiro this week, at Firjan [Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro] and the tire company showed that it has already lost 70% of the market. And it is one of the main companies in Brazil, which is in Rio de Janeiro. It has 8 thousand employees in Brazil and today it only has 30% of a market that it once had", said the sworn president of FPI.

Impact by states
The state of São Paulo, according to the ABCF Yearbook, suffers most from losses from the illegal market, representing 40% of the total, around R$205.6 billion.

Next comes the state of Paraná, with 14% of the country's total loss, with an estimated loss of R$71.96 billion. In third place comes the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which accounts for 10% of the total loss, with a nominal value of R$51.4 billion.

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Source: CNN