São Paulo – Brazilian beef sales to Egypt grossed US$ 52.24 million in February, up 11% from February 2014. The Arab country ranked fourth among the leading destinations for the product, after Hong Kong, the European Union and Venezuela, the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association (Abiec) has reported this Monday (9th).
Sales to Algeria, the other Arab country in the top ten list of Brazilian beef export targets, were down 5.5% to US$ 7.78 million last month.
Overall, beef exports from Brazil fetched US$ 432 million in the month, down 30.4% from February 2014. Abiec has stressed, however, that export revenues were 1.39% higher than in January 2015.
The volume shipped last month was 98,000 tons, up 1.9% from January 2015 but down 31.56% from February 2014. The association believes the comparison of February and January figures shows a foreign sales rebound.
Exports to Venezuela and Iran grew the most in February from January 2015, in both revenues and volume.
Year-to-date, i.e. in January and February combined, 194,000 tons of beef were exported from Brazil, down 28% from the comparable period in 2014. Revenues reached US$ 859 million during the period, down 26% from January and February of last year.
According to the chairman of Abiec, Antônio Jorge Camardelli, the industry expects a gradual recovery, since the scenario is beginning to show signs of stabilizing. “Prices are adjusting, the ruble (Russian currency) is rising again and the dollar is at export-friendly levels. We have recently re-entered important markets, like Iraq and South Africa, and there are high hopes that China, Saudi Arabia and Japan will lift their bans for good, plus there is a chance of us entering the United States as well. This allows us to uphold our expectations of seeing a new record in 2015,” he said in a press statement.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
