São Paulo –Brazilian imports of diesel oil had a significant increase from January to September this year, and one of the suppliers was Bahrain, an Arab country located in the Arabian Gulf. Diesel purchases from foreign countries reached US$ 3.7 billion from January to September this year, as against US$ 967.5 million in the same period of last year, representing growth of 290%.
According to data supplied by the Foreign Trade Secretariat (SECEX) of the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Bahrain exported US$ 40.2 million in diesel to Brazil up until September. Among Arab countries, another supplier of the product to the Brazilian market was the United Arab Emirates, although at a much lower value: US$ 1.8 million.
Information disclosed by Petrobras halfway through the year, when diesel imports were already growing, ascribed the increase to the interruption of work at the Paulínia Refinery (Replan) and to increased domestic demand. Bahrain, for instance, which supplied diesel to Brazil from January to September, had not sold the product to the country in the same period of 2009.
Other countries have also exported more diesel to Brazil in the first nine months of the year. Sales from the United States, the leading Brazilian supplier, went from US$ 184 in the first nine months of last year to US$ 1.3 billion this year. Imports from India went from US$ 271 million to US$ 1.1 billion, and from South Korea, from US$ 217.8 million to US$ 326 million. The Netherlands, which did not supply Brazil in 2009, exported US$ 301 million.
Despite its efforts to diversify economic activities, Bahrain is still highly dependent on its production of oil and derivatives. The commodity and its products account for 60% of the Arab country’s exports, which totalled around US$ 13 billion last year. The segment also accounts for 11% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Bahrain, which is also increasing the capacity of its refineries.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
