Marina Sarruf*
marina.sarruf@anba.com.br
São Paulo – Brazilian exports to the Arab countries totalled US$ 6.38 billion form January to November, representing a 7.6% increase over the same period of last year. The figures were provided by the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex). Imports of Arab products grew 11.3% in the first eleven months of this year compared with the same period of 2006, totalling US$ 5.67 billion.
According to the president at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Antonio Sarkis Jr., despite the lower figures and volume recorded for exports of sugar, which is the flagship of Brazilian exports to the Arab market, the increase in all the other items was sufficient to maintain the export level. "This is a positive factor," he claimed.
The Arab countries that imported the most from Brazil were Saudi Arabia, US$ 1.35 billion, an increase of 5% in comparison with the first 11 months of last year, Egypt, US$ 1.13 billion, a decrease of 8.3%, the United Arab Emirates, US$ 1.14 billion, an increase of 17.9%, Algeria, US$ 445 million, an increase of 6.7% and Morocco, US$ 413 million, 13.4% more.
The countries that had the largest increases in imports of Brazilian products were Jordan, US$ 269.9 million, growth of 148%, Mauritania, US$ 93.9 million, 77% more, Qatar, US$ 124.9 million, an increase of 67.8%, Oman, US$ 81.2 million, 54.9% more and Kuwait, US$ 191.9 million, an increase of 54.3%.
Brazilian imports from the Arab market came mainly from Algeria, which exported US$ 1.9 billion, an increase of 0.56%, Saudi Arabia, US$ 1.5 billion, a decrease of 6.6%, Libya, US$ 890 million, a rise of 208%, Morocco, US$ 497 million, 58.2% more and the United Arab Emirates, US$ 279 million, a decrease of 6.8%.
In November, Brazilian foreign sales to the Arab countries totalled US$ 565 million, a decrease of 16.4% in comparison with the same month of last year. Imports, on the other hand, grew 80.7%, rising from US$ 446 million to US$ 806 million.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
