São Paulo – Fertilizer imports from Arab countries to Brazil increased by 19.8% from January through July this year as against the same period in 2013. Imports from Arab countries increased by a higher rate than global imports of the product. Figures supplied by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade and compiled by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce show that Brazil imported 2.7 million tonnes of fertilizers from Arab countries year-to-date through July this year.
In turn, figures released by the National Association for Fertilizer Diffusion (ANDA) indicate a 12.8% increase in volume of global imports of NPK-based fertilizers from January to July, to a total of 13.2 million tonnes. Year-to-date through July last year, Brazil had imported 11.7 million tonnes worth of fertilizers.
However, traditional suppliers such as Morocco and Tunisia did not account for the higher imports from Arab countries. Morocco shipped the most product to Brazil year-to-date through July, at 1.01 million tonnes, but shipped volume was down 12% from the same period in 2013. Exports from Tunisia also dropped, by 52%, to 83,490 tonnes. Egypt’s exports to Brazil were down 60% to 118,600 tonnes.
Imports increased across the board. Qatar shipped 16.5% more product to Brazil (589,000 tonnes) and Kuwait shipped 838% more (348,000). Oman went from no sales from January to July last year to 189,800 tonnes from January to July this year. The United Arab Emirates shipped 153,800 tonnes to Brazil and next to nothing in the same period in 2013; Bahrain shipped 102,300 tonnes, up 77%.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
