Alexandre Rocha
São Paulo – Companies connected to the Brazilian Zebu Breeders Association (ABCZ) want to dive headfirst into the international bovine live animal, semen and embryo market. Among the markets of interest producers this year are the Arab countries, with representatives from the association participating in the International Fair in Cairo, Egypt.
"We are focussing on Egypt, which despite being a door of entry to the Arab markets in North Africa is also a great exporter of live animals," explained ABCZ foreign relations manager Gerson Pedro Nunes Simão to ANBA.
Participation in the fair in Cairo is part of an agreement for technical and financial cooperation between the association and the Brazilian Export Promotion Agency (Apex), which started in October last year, focussing on increasing sector export.
In all, 12 companies that work with artificial insemination, embryo transfer, sales of live animals, and genetic improvement services, are part of the project, of which Simão is also the executive manager.
Market potential
According to Simão, Egypt alone imported 92,492 heads of cattle last year and the 21 Arab countries purchased around 440,000 animals. The figures, according to him, were provided by the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and do not discriminate animals purchased for slaughter from those for reproduction.
However, Simão believes that the Arab market is more suited to sales of slaughter animals. "In my evaluation, the Arabs prefer to use their agricultural land for agriculture itself. And with the import of animals for slaughter there, the country generates local jobs and makes use of the by products," he stated.
According to him, the only business of the kind that has ever taken place with the Arabs was the export of 946 heads of Nelore cattle to Lebanon, all of them for slaughter. With participation in the fair in Egypt, Simão hopes to make new contacts and get to know the local demand better so as to increase sales.
Before the event, the executive hopes to visit cold storage houses, farms, and artificial insemination centres in the country to have a clearer idea of demand, check if there is, for example, the possibility of exporting semen, embryos, and services as well as animals.
"Nowadays the Arabs buy large quantities from Australia, making the cattle travel great distances. We are closer and have quality," guaranteed Simão. Apart from that, he recalled that Australia went through a serious drought last year, affecting production. This was one of the reasons why Brazil took the lead in the cattle beef export market in 2003.
Program
Simão said that the idea to establish this partnership with Apex, baptized Brazilian Cattle Genetics, was born when the association noticed that the number of foreign visitors coming to sector trade fairs, especially ExpoZebu, which takes place in Uberaba (in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais), became "significant", as did business opportunities with other countries.
"Our intention is to open new markets," stated Simão. Brazil currently exports live zebu cattle to Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso, Angola, Colombia, Uruguay, and Paraguay, as well as Lebanon. However, he said that sales are still small in comparison to what the sector believes the potential may be.
In 2002, according to Simão, shipping totalled 1,014 heads of cattle, for the value of US$ 677,000. In 2003 the figure rose to 2,657 animals, generating revenues of US$ 1.3 million. For 2004, already within the Apex partnership, the target is to export 22,000 heads, generating around US$ 9 million. He stressed that, apart from Lebanon, all sales last year were animals for reproduction.
In the case of semen, in 2002 export totalled 29,500 doses, for the value of US$ 128,000. In 2003 shipping totalled around 54,000 doses, for US$ 219,000. In 2004 the target is to sell 100,000 doses to the foreign market. In the case of embryos, according to Simão, there is no register of export. In all, the sector hopes to generate revenues of US$ 14.8 million in 2004 through the export of cattle and genetic material.
Total investment in Brazilian Cattle Genetics, shared half – half by the ABCZ and Apex, will be around US$ 900,000. Among other actions, the project forecasts sector participation in various international sector trade fairs, beginning with one in Houston, Texas, after the one in Cairo, then going to events in Shanghai, in China, Angola, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru and Caracas, in Venezuela. Simão stated that participation in some fair in Southeast Asia, the Philippines, Malaysia, or Thailand is also being evaluated.
Apart from that, 20 foreign "opinion formers", among them journalists and people connected to the sector, will be invited to the International Fair, part of ExpoZebu, in May. Among them there should be two Egyptians.
Business possibilities
Among the markets Simão believes have the greatest business potential are, in the first place South America, especially Colombia, a country that, according to him, has 27 million heads of cattle. The executive also sees good possibilities in Central America. If Brazilian producers manage to open space in the Mexican market, which is in North America, greater business possibilities can be opened.
Africa is also observed with great interest. "In Africa there is market for all of our products, as the livestock there has been devastated," stated Simão.
Apart from that, there is China, the country of greatest interest to all those involved in foreign trade today. The Chinese government, according to Simão, recently decided to purchase 20,000 milk cattle embryos per month, which, according to him, is more than Brazil produces.
The project forecasts export not only of genetic material and live cattle, but also of milk. Among the Brazilian Zebu breeds destined for beef production, to be included in the project, Simão mentioned Nelore, Polled Nelore, Guzerá and Brahman. In the case of milking cattle, the breeds are Gir and Girolando. "Brazil has 182 million heads of cattle, 80% being Zebu," stated Simão.
Mad cow
At the end of last year, a new variable appeared in the path of the Brazilian cattle genetic material project: A case of mad cow disease on a farm in Washington (USA). With this, many countries, among them Brazil, suspended import of meat from the US. Simão believes that this may help business here.
According to him, the fear of contamination has already brought positive effects for cattle beef exporters. A commission of sector representatives is currently visiting Japan, another country that has suspended cattle beef purchase from the USA, and in future a commission from Japan will visit Brazil to evaluate the "bio safety" of country produce.
This, in his evaluation, should provide an impulse in live animal and genetic material business and, in future, a genetic improvement in the Brazilian breeding stock. According to him, the country does not currently have a stock large enough to answer to the demand of generated by countries that may stop purchasing beef from the USA.
"To answer to this demand, it is necessary to invest in an improvement of genetic material. It is necessary to improve the animal rumps, putting more meat in the hind part. This will improve our products, as well as open new markets," he pointed out. The executive then added that for Brazil to establish itself in this market it is essential that the federal government invest heavily in programs against foot and mouth disease, not only in Brazil, but also in neighbouring countries. "With frontiers the size of ours, we live a constant risk," he completed.
The ABCZ currently counts on 13,000 associates in Brazil and abroad, and centralizes activities regarding Zebu cattle in the technical, political, and economic areas. The companies that are part of Brazilian Cattle Genetics are: ABS Pecplan, Alta Genetics, Agroexport, Brasif Pecuária, Cenatte Embriões, Gencenter, Gertec Embriões, Lagoa da Serra Genética, Yakult, Vitrogen, Central Bela Vista, and Cauêmbryo.
Contact
ABCZ
Telephone: (+5534) 3319-3900
www.abcz.com.br
