São Paulo – Brazilian exports to the Arab countries dropped 6.18% in the accumulated result this year up to October, according to figures disclosed by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, compiled by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. They generated US$ 11.4 billion for Brazil in the first ten months of the year, while in the same period last year, they had generated US$ 12.2 billion.
“It is a period of stock clearing,” said the CEO at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Michel Alaby. According to him, at this time of the year, the region is clearing its stocks, prepared for Ramadan and Hajj. Purchases return in November and December, before ships start striving to fulfil the great import demand of the northern nations prior to winter.
Alaby also believes in the possibility of the Arabs expecting food prices to drop before they buy. Prices of products imported from Brazil by the region are already falling. That is reflected in the figures, as while exports dropped 6.18% in revenues, the volume shipped dropped 5.96%, slightly less.
Four of Brazil’s five main clients in the Arab nations bought less from January to October. Saudi Arabia, which heads the ranking, imported 5.14% less; purchases by the Emirates dropped 1.34%, those of Egypt fell 18.35%, those of Oman rose 2.32% and those of Algeria dropped 1.72% over the same months last year. These figures are reflected in exports revenues, but not in volume.
There was 7.15% growth in revenues obtained with sales of animals and their products, a reduction of 10.5% in exports of industrialized food and a drop of 9.6% in those of mineral products.
In October alone, sales from Brazil to the Arab world also dropped over those in the same month in 2012. The drop reached 13.1% in revenues, to US$ 1.3 billion, and 9.4% in volume.
Brazil’s imports from Arab countries from January to October this year, in turn, as against the same period last year, rose 1.72%. Shipments totalled US$ 9.4 billion in the first ten months of 2012 and US$ 9.5 billion in the same months in 2013. In October alone, there was great expansion: 39%. Imports climbed from US$ 839 million in October 2012 to US$ 1.1 billion last month.
*Translated by Mark Ament
