São Paulo – The three top Arab buyers of beef from Brazil decreased their imports in 2020 from 2019. Over the year, Egypt was the second largest buyer of beef from Brazil at 127,953 tonnes, down 23% from 2019. Saudi Arabia was the sixth largest buyer at 41,067 tonnes, down 4.4% from 2019. Then came the United Arab Emirates at 40,860 tonnes, down 44.2%.
The figures were disclosed by the Brazilian Meat Packers Association (Abrafrigo) on Friday (8) based on information collected by the Foreign Trade Secretariat (SECEX/DECEX) of Brazil’s Ministry of Economy. For 2021, the association expects imports to markets such as the Arab countries to grow. For this purpose, Abrafrigo bets on the recovery of the world economy driven by the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Overall, Brazilian beef exports are expected to climb by 5%.
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Brazilian beef exports to the world were over 2 million tonnes last year, a record high, up 9% in volume and 11% in revenue from 2019.
China, adding up the purchases by the continent and the city-state of Hong Kong, was the main driver of the record high, importing 1,118,672 tonnes, up 58.6%, for USD5.1 billion, up 60.7%.
In December alone, Brazil exported 168,156 tonnes, down 3% year on year, fetching USD741 million, down 12%.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
