São Paulo – This Thursday (10) at the Rio Grande Port 4,000 head of cattle will start being loaded for shipping to Lebanon, alongside 22,000 head of cattle bound for Turkey. The animals hail from Estância del Sur farm, in Capão do Leão, an area near Pelotas in Rio Grande do Sul. The calves are cross-bred from European breeds such as Angus and Brangus. They have been sourced from different farms across the state, are aged from seven to twelve months, weigh about 250 kg each, and are uncastrated.
It will take at least five days to get all the animals onto the ship. According to Leila Vettorello, the general manager for sales and operations with port operator Sagres – which is responsible for shipping the 6,000 animals to Lebanon and 14,500 of the animals bound for Turkey –, the reason for that is the availability of trucks and the time it takes for them to get to the port. The Panamanian ship MV Nada can accommodate all of the cattle at once. The journey is expected to take 28 days. Operator Vanzin is responsible for the remaining 7,500 head of cattle going to Turkey.
Estância del Sur Exports director Vinícius Pilz told ANBA that this is the farm’s first-ever sale to Lebanon. When it comes to Arab countries, it supplies Jordan and Egypt. “We are in talks with buyers in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and we hope to have more sales to Lebanon. We are in frequent contact with our buyer there,” said Pilz. This year, Estância del Sur has shipped 20,000 head of cattle to Egypt, in two batches, and 10,000 to Jordan.
Not counting the ongoing sale, some 45,000 head of cattle, or roughly 11,800 tons, have shipped off from Rio Grande Port to Arab countries so far this year, fetching USD 23.34 million in revenue.
Year-to-date through August, livestock sales from Brazil to Arab countries grossed USD 111 million, down 39.3% from a year ago, with 59,360 tons – or 237,400 animals – shipped. The leading Arab importers have been Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Jordan.
Livestock exports from Brazil to the world amounted to USD 131 million through August, down 47% year-on-year. Turkey was the fourth biggest importer, trailing Iraq, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as per Secretariat of Foreign Trade (Secex) numbers. The bulk of sales ship out from the Rio Grande, Paranaguá and Santos seaports.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
