São Paulo – Bilateral trade between Brazil and the Arab countries reached US$ 9.4 billion in the first half of this year, result of Brazilian exports of US$ 4.1 billion and imports of US$ 5.3 billion. All figures are record for the period. This information was disclosed yesterday (8) by the president at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Antonio Sarkis Jr.
Figures for June resulted in monthly records. Brazilian sales reached US$ 966.15 million, and purchases US$ 1.37 billion. Bilateral trade in the month was US$ 2.336 billion. "It was a historic month for bilateral relations," stated Sarkis in a press conference at the offices of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, in the city of São Paulo.
According to him, the growth in trade is above expectations. In the first half, Brazilian exports grew 27.7% when compared to the first six months of 2007, imports grew 100% and bilateral trade presented expansion of 60.1%. Early this year, the Chamber had established an increase of 10% in trade relations as a target.
Participation of trade with the Arabs in the global Brazilian trade balance also reached record levels. Sales to the Arabs now represent 4.6% of total Brazilian exports, and purchases 6.7% of all that the country purchases from the world. In bilateral trade between Brazil and the world, the Arabs are now responsible for 5.5%.
The main destinations for Brazilian exports were Saudi Arabia, which imported the equivalent to US$ 1 billion, the United Arab Emirates (US$ 609 million), Egypt (US$ 544 million), Algeria (US$ 255 million), Kuwait (US$ 240 million) and Morocco (US$ 226 million).
The products responsible for the greatest share of the basket were chicken meat and beef, whose shipments generated US$ 1.4 billion in the half, sugar (US$ 622 million), ores (US$ 596 million), ironworks products (US$ 215.5 million), aeroplanes (US$ 167 million) and machinery (US$ 136 million).
Imports
The main Brazilian suppliers in the period were Saudi Arabia, which sold the equivalent to US$ 1.5 billion, Algeria (US$ 1.4 billion), Morocco (US$ 630 million), Iraq (US$ 600 million) and Libya (US$ 586 million).
The main items in the import basket were oil and derivatives (US$ 4.3 billion), fertilizers (US$ 563 million), inorganic chemical products (US$ 177 million), calcium phosphate, sulphur in bulk and rocks (US$ 123 million) and electric material (US$ 18.8 million).
Sarkis pointed out that there was a significant increase of 220% in imports of fertilizers, which, in his evaluation, is a positive figure that shows diversification of the trade basket, traditionally concentrated in products of the oil industry.
Regarding the US$ 1.15 billion deficit that Brazil has accumulated in trade with the Arabs, Sarkis stated that it is the result of higher oil prices, but that traditionally the trade balance tends to equilibrium. He believes that Brazilian exports are going to grow in the second half, especially up to the Islamic month of Ramadan, which should coincide with the month of September this year.
"In the months prior to Ramadan there is significant expansion in exports, specifically of food," said Sarkis. "In the second half, exports generally grow more, so the forecast is that the deficit should fall by the end of the year," he added. The president at the Arab Brazilian Chamber believes that bilateral trade should end the year with an increase of around 30%.
He mentioned some events that are going to take place in coming months and that may further boost trade, like the visit to Brazil of the minister of Foreign Relations of Jordan, Salaheddin Al-Bashir, and then that of the Abdullah II, the king of Jordan himself, the promotion of a trade mission to the countries of the Gulf, the Big 5 Show, a construction sector fair in Dubai, and the second edition of the Summit of Arab-South American Countries, which should take place in Doha, the capital of Qatar, in the first quarter of 2009.
*Translated by Mark Ament
