Isaura Daniel*
isaura.daniel@anba.com.br
São Paulo – Brazilian agribusiness exports to the Arab countries grew by 20.81% in the first seven months of this year compared with the same period of last year. Farmers and cattle-raisers in Brazil earned US$ 2.5 billion from sales to Arab countries from January until July, against US$ 2 billion in the same months of 2006. Of the items whose exports were higher than US$ 5 million, those that grew the most in the Arab market were, in the following order, dairy products, tobacco, coffee, cereals, forestry products, fruits, meats, products of animal origin, soy and derivatives, fibres, and textiles.
Fruit sales, for example, recorded a 50% increase. "What is taking place is the continuation of a trend for increase in Brazilian fruit exports, and one of the markets that we have been seeking, because it is an emerging one, is the Arab market," says the president at the Brazilian Fruit Institute (Ibraf), Moacyr Saraiva Fernandes. According to Fernandes, one of the flagships in terms of fruit exports this year were apples, which yielded a good crop in the first half of the year, after two years of bad harvests. Sales of apples to the Arabs rose from US$ 34,000, from January to July 2006, to US$ 1.2 million this year.
The president at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Antonio Sarkis Jr., says that the increase in fruit exports to the Arabs is a good sign. "This is a type of product that is perishable, therefore it needs to be transported quickly, through direct links. And the increase means that exports are becoming viable through freight," claims Sarkis. The largest revenues from Brazilian fruit exports to the Arabs came from cashew nuts, followed by oranges, fruit preserves, apples, tangerines, and lemons. Cashew nut sales reached US$ 3 million, and orange sales, US$ 2.2 million between January and July.
The Arab nations that bought the most products from Brazilian agribusiness in the first seven months this year were Saudi Arabia, at US$ 519.5 million, followed by the United Arab Emirates, at US$ 422.5 million, Egypt, at US$ 401 million, Algeria, at US$ 222 million, and Morocco, at US$ 169 million. Some products, such as those in the sugar and alcohol complex, recorded a decrease in sales during the period, but the performance in others sectors made up for it. Meat exports, for instance, grew by 42%, to stand at US$ 1.1 billion. Exports of the soy complex increased by 25% to reach US$ 173 million.
In the month of July, agribusiness exports to the countries in the League of Arab States recorded a decrease in comparison with the same month of 2006. They totalled US$ 457.4 million, in July last year, and US$ 414.4 million last month, a 9.39% decrease. The main products responsible for the result were those in the sugar and alcohol complex, which recorded a 41.28% decrease in sales, and soy and its derivatives, whose exports were 8.51% lower. Nevertheless, some products had a good performance. Such was the case with sales of meat, which increased by 30.95% to stand at US$ 184 million, of coffee, which rose by 182% to reach US$ 10.6 million, of tobacco, which had a 104% increase totalling US$ 7.7 million, and of dairy products, which grew by 149% to stand at US$ 4 million.
Exports of fruits to the Arabs have also increased in the month of July this year, compared with the same month of 2006. They recorded an increase of 214.6%, closing at US$ 1.6 million. The main exported fruit was the orange, which totalled US$ 900,000, followed by the tangerine, at US$ 374,000. In July, the main buyer of Brazilian fruits in the region was Saudi Arabia, followed by Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, and Lebanon. The president at Ibraf states that fruit exports to the Arabs should continue to rise in the second half of the year. "The growth rate should be at least 15%," says Fernandes. The flagship export product during the period, according to him, should be mango, whose harvest should begin in October.
A growing market
In a survey disclosed last week by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and Supply, seven Arab countries rank among the 30 countries that contributed the most to agribusiness exports between the years 2000 and 2006. Egypt ranks 6th, the United Arab Emirates rank 7th, Saudi Arabia ranks 8th, Algeria ranks 17th, Yemen ranks 21st, and Morocco, 26th. During the period, there has been a significant increase, according to the report, in the number of developing countries as destinations for Brazilian agribusiness exports. The average annual growth in sales to those regions was 23.1% from 2000 to 2005, whereas to developed nations, the increase has reached 10.8%.
According to the document, entitled "Agribusiness Commercial Exchange – Thirty Main Trade Partners," the share of developing countries as destinations for Brazilian agriculture and cattle raising exports has risen from de 33.9% in 2000 to 49.1% last year, whereas the share of developed countries have decrased from 66.1% in 2000 to 50.9% in 2006. Among developing countries, the Middle East as a whole was the second largest destination in 2006, and Africa was the fourth. The two regions are home to Arab countries.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
