São Paulo – Egypt was the seventh leading destination for Brazilian agribusiness exports in October. According to figures disclosed this Wednesday (16th) by the Ministry of Agriculture, Brazilian sales of agricultural products to the Arab country generated revenues of US$ 295 million, an increase of 112%. In the same month of last year, revenues from exports to Egypt stood at US$ 138 million.
Exports to the Arab country have grown at a higher rate than overall agribusiness sales, whichi increased by 22.6% and reached US$ 8.58 billion. Aside from Egypt, the 20 main destinations of Brazilian agribusiness exports in October included Saudi Arabia, at 18th, and the United Arab Emirates, at 19th. The two countries imported the equivalent of US$ 149.5 million and US$ 136 million, respectively.
The main Brazilian agribusiness export destination was China, with a 14.32% share of total exports. The Asian country imported US$ 1.2 billion, an increase of 110%. Egypt accounted for 3.44% of total exports, Saudi Arabia accounted for 1.74% and the Emirates, for 1.59%. Following China, the second leading destination was the United States, followed by the Netherlands, in third position, Japan, in fourth, and Venezuela, in fifth.
Region-wise, Asia was the main destination of Brazilian agribusiness exports in October, at US$ 2.8 billion, a 43.7% increase. The European Union ranked second, Nafta ranked third, Africa ranked fourth and the Middle East ranked fifth. The African continent imported the equivalent of US$ 884 million, a 56.2% increase over October 2010. The Middle East imported the equivalent of US$ 679 million, a decline of 11.6%.
According to figures disclosed by the press office of the Ministry of Development, the main sectors in agribusiness sales in October were soy grain, bean and chaff, coffee, sugar and ethanol, fibres, textiles, grains, and flours. These sectors combined accounted for 81.5% of exports. The sector whose sales grew the most was sugar and ethanol, at US$ 1.68 billion, an increase of 15.3%. Sugar accounted for US$ 1.48 billion of these, and ethanol answered to US$ 201 million, representing increases of 9.7% and 84.5%, respectively.
Year-to-date as of October, agribusiness exports reached US$ 79.4 billion, a 24.2% increase over the same period of last year. In the last 12 months, agribusiness export revenues stood at US$ 91.9 billion, 24.4% more than in the preceding 12-month period.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
