São Paulo – Revenues from exports from Brazil to Arab countries increased in March for the first time this year. Data released by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade and compiled by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Brazil exported US$ 1.036 billion worth of products to Middle East and North Africa in March, up 1.03% from March 2014. Total export volume reached 3.8 million tons, up 27.7% from March of last year.
Sugar was the top-selling product from Brazil to the Middle East and North Africa, at US$ 259.1 million, up 10.7%. Shipped volume was 758,900 tons, up 20%. Poultry was the second leading product at US$ 214.3 million, down 6.2%. Shipped volume was 135,400 tons, up 2.7% from March 2014. Iron ore ranked third at US$ 133.9 million in March, down 37.9% from March of last year. Shipped volume was 2.47 million tons, up 29.7%.
The CEO of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Michel Alaby, believes the last month’s export performance was fueled by pricing, and Arab buyers seized the occasion. “They stockpiled product and since prices are low, they will tend to keep buying large amounts in months to come,” he said. Also, according to Alaby, Arab countries are beginning to prepare for Ramadan, the holy month of Muslims, which will be celebrated in June this year.
Gold
Raw gold exports to the United Arab Emirates were the ones that grew the most in March. Brazil shipped US$ 63.1 million worth of gold to the country, up 12,700% from March 2014. The amount is also up from February 2015. The UAE were the leading Arab buyer of Brazilian products last month. Imports reached US$ 245.1 million, up 80.3% from March 2014.
Saudi Arabia was the second leading buyer at US$ 215 million, up 26.5% from March 2014. Egypt was third at US$ 133.3 million, down 22.8% from March 2014. Algeria, the fourth-placed country, imported US$ 97.6 million worth of goods from Brazil, down 5.2% from March of last year.
Oman, Bahrain and the UAE increased their import volume for iron ore, but said growth did not translate into higher revenues because the product, a commodity, is selling cheap on the international market. Saudi Arabia’s sugar imports grew in both volume and revenue. The country imported 58,400 tons of the product in March 2014 and 182,800 tons in the comparable month of this year. Spending on imports soared from US$ 21.05 million to US$ 58.3 million.
Although they increased in March, year-to-date exports are falling short of 2014. From January to March 2015, Brazil exported US$ 2.79 billion in products, down 8.1% from US$ 3.03 in Q1 2014.
Imports
Brazil’s imports from Arab countries reached US$ 401.7 million in March, down 31.5% from March 2014. Mineral fuel imports reached US$ 280.4 million, down 29.7%. Fertilizer importers were down 52.6% to US$ 58.5 million. The leading Arab exporters of products to Brazil were Algeria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Morocco.
Year-to-date, imports are down 33.19% from Q1 2014. From January to March, Brazil bought US$ 1.52 billion in goods from countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
