São Paulo – Brazilian agribusiness exports to the Middle East plummeted 29.5% in January from a year ago, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply reported last week. In the first month of 2015, Brazil grossed USD 654.3 million from agriculture and livestock product sales to the region, while sales fetched USD 461.3 million last month. The region’s share in overall agribusiness exports from Brazil dropped from 11.5% to 9.3%.
The Middle East comprises Arab and non-Arab countries such as Turkey, Iran and Israel. Despite the slowdown in exports, a few Arab countries stood out individually in January. One of them was Egypt, whose imports soared 54%. Egypt was the sixth top buyer of Brazilian agribusiness products last month. Saudi Arabia placed 11th, but its imports dropped 25.5%. The United Arab Emirates ranked 19th and imported 46.8% less than in January 2015.
Region-wise, Asia was the leading buyer of Brazilian agribusiness goods, followed by the European Union, the Middle East and the Nafta (North American Free Trade Agreement). The leading buyers were China, the United States, the Netherlands, Japan and Germany.
Overall, Brazilian agribusiness exports grossed USD 4.98 billion in January, down 11.7% from January 2015. The Ministry notes, however, that volume shipped rose 8.7%, with several products hitting all-time highs. “The decline in export value was primarily a result of lower average export prices,” the Ministry said in a statement.
The top-selling product was meat, which fetched USD 926.7 million, down 10.2%. Next came forest products, up 5.9% to USD 808.5 million in revenues, and cereals, flours and their products, with revenues up 6.5% to USD 798.7 million.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
