São Paulo – Sales of Brazilian products to the Arab market rose 0.96%, in the accumulated result for the first five months of the year, as against the same period last year. The increase was small due to the May performance, when the country’s exports to the region fell 17.57%, according to figures disclosed by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, compiled by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
"There was a drop in prices of many products, specially food, reflected in the overall result for May," says the director-general at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Michel Alaby. In volume, there was an increase of 7.43% in sales to the Arab world from January to May, with a 12.7% drop last month. From January to May, Brazilian exports to the Arabs generated revenues of $ 5.58 billion. In May, they totalled US$ 1.04 billion.
In May, products like sugar and livestock presented a decline in prices .Lower volumes of items, like ores, meats, inorganic chemicals, grain, oleaginous seeds and fruit were also shipped. All, except for meats, had lower sales revenues. Meat exports grew 11.67% in turnover.
In the first five months of the year, the product that generated most foreign currency to the country, in sales to the Arabs, was meat, followed by sugar, ores and grain. In May, alone, the ranking was also led by meats, followed by sugar, ores and machinery.
The Arab country that bought most goods from Brazil in the first five months of the year was Saudi Arabia, with US$ 1.2 billion, followed by the United Arab Emirates, with US$ 978 million, and then Egypt, with US$ 808.9 million. In May, the Saudis were also first on the list, with US$ 288.5 million, the Egyptians came in second position, with US$ 213.7 million, and the Emirates in third, with US$ 166 million.
To the director-general at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, it is still too early to know how the performance of Brazil’s exports to the Arabs in the year will turn out due to the economic changes underway in the country and in the international market. The appreciated dollar brings more competitiveness to Brazil’s exports, he recalls, but at the same time there is a tendency for decline in commodity prices, which can nullify the effect of the appreciated US currency. There is also growing inflation in the country and, if domestic prices are more attractive than external ones, Alaby believes that companies will prefer to sell on the domestic market.
Imports
Brazilian imports of Arab products, however, have been growing more. In the accumulated result for January through May they have grown 8.95% over the same period in 2012, to US$ 4.9 billion. Fuel lead the ranking, with US$ 3.9 billion, and fertilizers came in second, with US$ 270 million. In May alone, imports from the Arab countries grew more, 37.17%, to US$ 1.5 billion. The products topping the list are the same.
*Translated by Mark Ament