São Paulo – Arab countries food imports go up in special dates or times of year, and this week saw the beginning of Ramadan, the holy month during which Muslims go on a fast from sunrise to sunset. It isn’t unusual for Muslim-majority countries to stock up goods, in the months prior to Ramadan, especially food. Amid the Covid-19, even though the such countries’ shopping curves kept true to form, imports of halal-certified products slowed in many parts of the world.
Federation of Muslim Associations in Brazil (Fambras) vice-president Ali Zoghbi said demand for food products usually goes up 30 to 40 days before Ramadan begins. In March 2020, Brazilian food and beverage sales to Arab countries came out to 968,440 tons, 11.52% higher than in the month before. Sales to Islamic countries – including non-Arab ones – were up 4.89% over February to 2.28 million tons.
Even though overall demand for foodstuffs is holding up, halal-certified items jumped out. “The volume of processed goods exported to Arab countries kept stable (since the beginning of the year), compared with the first four months of 2019. On the other hand, there was a decline in issuance of halal certificates for animal protein in general,” said Dib Ahmad El Tarrass, the Industrial Halal Development manager at Fambras Halal.
Certification for several countries decreased year-on-year year from January 1st to date. For Arab countries, it was down 5%, with the exception of the UAE, where it remained flat. Certification for Asia was down 5%, except China, up 10%. European countries such as Germany, Belgium and Italy saw a 10% drop, while in the Netherlands the level was on par with last year. Certification for Africa was down 5% on average but remained unchanged for South Africa.
The Covid-19 pandemic that took hold in the last four months is named as a factor. “For the protein industry, it really was a negative factor that bred insecurity,” explains Dib. Exports of processed goods to Arab countries in the pre-Ramadan months are usually as much as 30% higher than in regular months. The bulk of shopping usually happens 60 days ahead of time.
The postponing of product promotion events is one of the challenges that the halal sector is facing in these times of Covid-19. “Since the international food industry shows got cancelled, possibly for all of 2020, our industry should seek alternatives, like enhancing trade ties with clients, building mechanisms to achieve sustained growth. They must develop contingency plans and risk reduction across the supply chain. These actions are crucial to keeping trade balanced for Brazilian industries,” said Dib.
When it comes to halal products, Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA) numbers back up Dib’s analysis. “Sales of some halal products went down in some markets, while others imported the same amount or even more. This is only natural, since the Ramadan itself had a different dynamic in 2020, what with the shutdown orders in multiple countries as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic,” reads a press release from ABPA. In months to come, the association expects sales to keep steady. “We hope exports will remain at current levels.”
While pre-Ramadan imports usually pick up, during the actual month the opposite usually holds, since inventories are already in place. Nevertheless, Dib believes sales will remain solid this year. “We have an optimistic outlook. We believe there will be no abrupt drops. What we’ll see is adaptations stemming from a more efficient, safer management of commerce,” he explains.
Ali Zoghbi notes that Brazil’s industry keeps putting out food to meet export demands. “Manufacturing lines are working as usual for this time of year , particularly for halal items. This is what we’re seeing. Of course, we are watching day after day, and we have noticed that orders are coming in as usual. Our production remains unchanged. We are slaughtering to make animal protein,” he said.
Some Arab countries are keeping watch of supplies to make sure there’s enough food for the holy month. Official news outlet WAM quoted UAE Food Security Council spokesperson Essa Al Hashemi as saying this Wednesday (22), that despite the exceptional circumstances the country and the world are facing, food and beverage import and export volumes remain the same as last year.”
He also said 3.5 million tons of food were imported in Q3 2020, while exports came out to 918,000 tons. Food re-exports came out to 455,000 tons.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
