São Paulo – Brazilian agribusiness exports to the Arab countries increased in April. According to an industry overview released this Wednesday (15th) by the Ministry of Agriculture, Saudi Arabia, which is Brazil’s leading agribusiness client in the region, imported the equivalent of US$ 273.2 million, up 53% from April 2012. The United Arab Emirates imported US$ 200 million, up 100%. Brazil’s exports to Algeria were up 123% to US$ 105.5 million.
Exports to the Middle East as a whole were up 55.5% to US$ 722.1 million. Sales to the region helped drive up the total export figure. In April, Brazilian agribusiness exported US$ 9.65 billion worth of agribusiness products, up 37.3% from April 2012, according to the ministry.
Soy bean, bran and oil were the top export product last month. Shipments amounted to 8.5 million tonnes, generating US$ 4.53 billion in revenues. Exports were up 49% from April 2012, volume-wise, and 56% in value. Exports of meats, which were the next-to-best-selling product category, were up 15.4% to US$ 1.5 billion. The sugar and ethanol industry ranked third among the top export products in April. Sales were up 130% to US$ 847 million.
China remained Brazil’s principal client, having increased its imports by nearly 70% in April, to a total of US$3.3 billion. The Netherlands, United States, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Russia, Italy, the Emirates, Spain Belgium, Germany, Venezuela, Thailand, France, South Korea, United Kingdom, Argentina, Algeria and Taiwan round out the list of top 20 Brazilian agribusiness buyers.
Year-to-date
Year-to-date, Brazilian agribusiness exports have also increased. According to the ministry, exports have amounted to US$ 30.22 billion, up 14.3% from US$ 26.44 billion from January to April 2012.
From January through April, the top export products were soy bean, bran and oil, sugar and ethanol, meats, forest products and cereals, flours and preparations. China, United States, Netherlands, Japan and South Korea are the leading agribusiness buyers so far this year.
Saudi Arabia is the sixth main buying country. Through April, the Gulf country purchased US$ 929.5 million worth of Brazilian products, up 26% from January through April 2012. During the period, the Emirates’ imports were up 34.1% to US$ 676.8 million. Egypt, which ranks 17th in the list of Brazilian agribusiness clients this year, imported the equivalent of US$ 456.3 million, up 6.9% from January through April 2012. The Middle East’s imports during the period have amounted to US$ 2.7 billion, up 30.7% from the same period in 2012. Through April, the Middle East accounted for 9.1% of the industry’s overall exports.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
