São Paulo – After going down for five straight months, exports from Brazil to Arab countries were up 17% in August, as per numbers from the Brazilian Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services compiled by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. Export revenues reached USD 1.2 billion, up from slightly over USD 1 billion in August 2015. The only other month this year to see a year-on-year increase in exports was February.
Sales to Arab countries were mostly a result of sugar exports, at USD 380 million, up USD 251.5 million from USD 128.8 million in August 2015. Arab Chamber CEO Michel Alaby notes that September will be the month of Eid Al-Adha, a festivity held 40 days after Ramadan, and that this may have driven sugar sales up.
The average price of Brazilian sugar sold to Arab countries was up 3%. Revenue from sugar exports was up 195%, with shipped amounts up 128%. Sugar sales increased for Brazil’s three leading Arab buyers – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
Exports also increased for livestock, defense industry materials, vehicles, and aircraft, but some of the products that are usually on top of the sales list saw exports decline, including poultry, down 11%, beef, down 9.8%, and ore, down 3.3%. Brazilian maize exports to Arab countries fell 46%, and rice exports were down 47%.
Despite the positive performance in August, year-to-date numbers are still down from the year-ago period. From January to August, exports from Brazil to Arab countries dropped 8.3% to USD 7.4 billion. The Arab Chamber’s CEO expects similar results over the next few months and that, as a result, sales will have matched last year’s by the end of 2016.
Arab countries have less money to spend due to low oil prices, but Alaby doesn’t believe that should significantly affect trade with Brazil. “They depend on food imports, therefore I don’t see any serious problems to Brazil,” he says. Arab countries import much of the foodstuffs they consume, and those are the lion’s share of Brazil’s exports to them. Meats, sugar, and ores are the top sellers.
Brazil’s imports from Arab countries also went up in August, by 28%, driven by oil, oil products and fertilizers. Oil and oil products imports were up 22% to USD 268 million, with fertilizer imports up 42% to USD 153 million. Overall, Brazil imported USD 446 million worth of goods from Arab countries in August. Year-to-date through August, imports reached USD 3.7 billion, down 16%.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum