São Paulo – Sales of Brazilian products to the Arab countries were practically stable in September, with a small drop of 0.12% over the same month last year, well below the reduction in the country’s exports to markets in general, which was 5.1% in the same period. Last month, Brazil accumulated revenues of US$ 20 billion with exports and US$ 1.36 billion with shipments to the Arab world.
The director general at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Michel Alaby, recalls that the Arab countries are still consuming stocks made for Ramadan and that starting now, sales should warm up due to the replacement of food stocks. The Arabs Muslims have started preparing for Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, which takes place in late October this year and usually increases food consumption, said Alaby. Saudi Arabia, where Mecca is located, receives many foreigners in the period.
In the accumulated result for the year up to September, exports from Brazil to the Arab world dropped 3.43%, but the reduction was below that recorded in shipments from Brazil as a whole, 4.9%. Brazil had revenues of US$ 180.6 billion with exports in the first nine months of the year and US$ 10.6 billion to the Arabs, according to Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade figures compiled by the Business and Market Department at the Arab Brazilian Chamber.
From January to September, there was a reduction in purchases by two of the five main markets in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia, the main importer, bought 17% less, with US$ 2.1 billion of the total, and Algeria, the fifth in the ranking, reduced its purchases by 27%, to US$ 830 million.
Egypt was the region’s second main buyer of products from Brazil and imports rose 13%, to US$ 1.9 billion. The third country in the list was the United Arab Emirates, with US$ 1.7 billion, growth of 6%, and the fourth was Oman, with US$ 843 million and growth of 48%.
In September, the main Brazilian market in the Middle East and North Africa was Egypt, with US$ 313 million and growth of 20%, followed by the Emirates, with US$ 225.98 million and a reduction of 1.7%, Saudi Arabia, with US$ 226 million and a drop of 12%, Oman, with US$ 118 million and growth of 49%, and Algeria, with US$ 108 million and expansion of 14%.
Imports
Brazil’s imports of Arab products in the first nine months of the year grew 44% and totalled US$ 8.5 billion. Brazil buys mainly oil, its products, and fertilizers from the region. The main supplier was Saudi Arabia, followed by Algeria. In September alone, there was a drop of 4.15% in sales by the Arabs to Brazil, generating revenues of US$ 870 million. There was a reduction in shipments from Algeria.
*Translated by Mark Ament
