São Paulo – Brazil is expecting to export 1.7 million tonnes of beef in 2015, grossing US$ 8 billion in the process. By the end of this year, foreign sales are expected to have reached 1.58 million tonnes, up 4.45% from 2013, with revenues at US$ 7.28 billion, up 8.6%. The information has been released this Thursday (11th) by the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association (Abiec), in São Paulo.
According to Abiec chairman Antônio Jorge Camardelli, the positive expectations for the year to come are underpinned by the resumption of exports to China, which has lifted a ban on Brazilian meat in place since 2012, and the expected reopening of the Saudi Arabian market to product from Brazil.
The Gulf country also stopped importing beef from Brazil in 2012, following the Brazilian government’s announcement that an animal in Paraná state that carried the “mad cow disease” causative agent died in 2010, without developing the condition. The case was classified as “atypical.” Despite the fact that Brazil’s risk status for the disease is “negligible,” according to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), Saudi Arabia hasn’t resumed purchasing yet.
“The general expectation is that the Chinese market will gradually drive up [exports], since we are able to deliver both the quantity and the quality,” said Camardelli, adding that “the calculations do take into account the resumption of sales to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.” Among the Arab countries, Bahrain and Lebanon also have embargoes on Brazilian beef in place.
In November, a mission led by the Brazilian minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Neri Geller, travelled to Saudi Arabia to address the issue.
“The resumption process was agreed upon, and it hinged upon a questionnaire, which the Ministry of Agriculture has already answered and submitted to their authorities. Brazil offered three different dates [for the Saudis to choose from] on which for a sanitary mission to take place, in February at the latest. We will surely succeed, considering the extent of our interest in this particular market,” said the Abiec chairman.
Gourmet
A market niche in Arab countries that is of interest to Brazil is gourmet beef. Exporters are working on selling this type of product to Morocco, which does not buy any beef from Brazil at this time.
“Morocco is a country that interests us when it comes to gourmet beef, considering its tourism industry. Casablanca has a huge tourist appeal. What’s interesting about Morocco is that everything is ready: we have sanitary agreement, a sanitary certificate. The only thing we lack is for the country to define the profile of the [meat packing] plants they will accept to buy from, and this is what’s holding the process back,” said Camardelli.
The chairman also spoke on Brazil’s interest in selling beef to the Moroccan government. “We have been trying to participate but have been left out, because we are having trouble completing the trade agreement so we can bid in army and government tenders,” he stated.
Camardelli also discussed the importance of Gulfood, the Middle East’s leading food industry exhibition, when it comes to selling to Arab countries. “Gulfood is an exhibition we can no longer afford not to attend. In the past, the only buyers there were Arab. Now, they get visitors from all over the world. The Gulfood is the solid groundwork upon which our relations with the whole world are built, especially with the Arab world,” he said regarding the fair held annually in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
The executive remarked that the Arab countries favour beef with a very low rate of fat, and this will be the focus of the barbecue Abiec is offering in the upcoming Gulfood edition, next February. “The barbecue will feature an exclusive product, such as filet mignon or some other cut we can work on, market perception-wise. This is what we are about to do at Gulfood, work on a slightly different angle, a new product on a market that pays extremely well and buys steadily,” Camardelli explained.
Exports
Year-to-date through November, Brazil exported 1.424 million tonnes of beef, up 4% from 2013. Revenues stood at US$ 6.5 billion, up 8.16%.
Hong Kong was the leading destination for Brazilian beef this year, at 360,647 tonnes shipped through November and US$ 1,537 billion in revenues. The highest-ranking Arab country is Egypt, the fifth leading importing country.
Through November, 142,594 tonnes were shipped from Brazil to Egypt, with revenues at US$ 526 million. The tenth leading buyer is Algeria, at 19,433 tonnes and US$ 93.119 million in revenues.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
