São Paulo – Egypt ranks among the leading export targets of meat company Frigorífico Astra, based in the Brazilian state of Paraná. The enterprise has shipped product to the Arab country since 2011, which is the company’s third leading market at this time.
“Our main markets are Russia, Hong Kong and Egypt,” says trader Paulo Zedra. The company started selling to Arab countries in 2011, via trade fairs such as Gulfood, held annually in Dubai, and through direct contacts.
Apart from Egypt, the meat company also sells to the United Arab Emirates and used to sell to Saudi Arabia until the country banned Brazilian beef imports, in December 2012.
Presently, Astra sells mostly to distributors in the Arab countries. “We also ship beef to the Egyptian army,” Zedra says. He explains that the company did not take part in a tender in the country, but that one of its clients imports beef from Brazil in order to supply the local armed forces.
Zedra explains that the Arab countries import frozen and boneless beef. According to him, clients in the region favour forequarter cuts. He does not disclose revenue figures, but says exports account for 20% of total earnings.
When asked about the prospect of increasing sales to the Arab world, the trader pointed out expectations that the Saudi market will lift the ban on Brazilian beef.
The Gulf country has an embargo in place ever since the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture announced the detection of the mad cow disease causative agent in an animal that died in 2010. The animal, however, did not die from the condition, which it did not develop.
“We are expecting Saudi Arabia to resume purchasing soon. The country is a major buyer,” he said. "If it does, we are expecting to have 30% to 35% of revenues coming from exports,” he said.
Founded in 1994, Frigorífico Astra is headquartered in the city of Cruzeiro do Oeste, in northwest Paraná. Currently, the company has 900 employees.
Contact
Frigorífico Astra
Tel.: (+55 44) 3676-8118
Email: exportacao@frigoastra.com.br
Website: www.frigoastra.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
