São Paulo – Brazilian agriculture and livestock exports to Middle East are down 2.7% August-on-August, according to information released this Tuesday by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa, in the Portuguese acronym). The sector exports also increased to two Arab countries listed in the 20 leading destinations of agribusiness goods in August, Saudi Arabia, first among the Arabs and sixth in the general ranking, and the United Arab Emirates, second among the Arabs and the 12th in the general list.
Egypt is the 20th in the general ranking and the third in the Arab Market, but the exports to this market declined by 49%. As regards the Saudis, exports increased by 57% and sales to the Emirates, by 27%. The Saudi spending amounted to US$ 264,400, the Emirates, to US$ 198,700 and Egypt, to US$ 126,300.
In August, agribusiness grossed US$ 768,400 with sales to Middle East. The region accounted for 8.6% of the total Brazilian exports, as against 7.4% in August 2013. Middle East is comprised of several Arab countries, such as the Emirates and Saudi Arabia, but it also includes non-Arab countries, as Israel and Iran. This means that the figures Mapa has calculated for the region also include these destinations.
The surge in exports to Middle East goes against the international market movement as a whole, as overall Brazilian agribusiness sales declined by 2.5% month-on-month and amounted to US$ 8.8 billion. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, vegetable-based goods were the leading driver to the decline in August, mainly due to the contraction in sales of the sugar/ethanol complex, soy bean, bran and oil complex, cereals, flours and their products. Sales of animal-based goods, however, saw an increase.
Year-to-date through August, Brazilian agribusiness sales have also declined. The contraction was 2.1% from the same period last year and the revenue obtained was US$ 67.6 billion. Also year-to-date through August, sugar/ethanol complex had the sharpest decline and helped push down the general result. Other segments such as soy bean, bran and oil complex, meats, and forest products, paper and wood pulp and wood had an increase in sales.
Exports to Middle East from January through August had a steeper decline than the average general. The contraction was 12% from the same months in 2013, grossing US$ 4.6 billion. Sales to two Arab countries listed among the 20 main destinations in the period are also down, Saudi Arabia, by 15%, and the Emirates, by 9.3%. Egypt is also part of the list and imports increased by 0.7%.
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça
