Marina Sarruf*
marina.sarruf@anba.com.br
São Paulo – Brazilian exports of machinery and equipment to the Arab countries have totalled US$ 239.87 million from January to September, representing a 58% increase in comparison with the same period of last year. The information were supplied by the Brazilian Machinery Manufacturers Association (Abimaq).
As reported by ANBA last week, the leading Arab countries in the sector were the United Arab Emirates, with imports of US$ 77.87 million in the first nine months of the year; Saudi Arabia, at US$ 70.66 million; Egypt, at US$ 20.89 million; and Algeria, at US$ 13.5 million.
The main products exported to the Arabs were tractors, well casing pipes, compressor units, parts for piston engines, and parts for hydraulic turbines.
Arab countries, in turn, exported to Brazil the equivalent of US$ 438,620 in machinery and equipment, a 78.5% decrease in comparison with the first nine months of last year. Parts for taps, filtering and purifying devices, and instruments and devices for the industry were the main items imported by Brazil.
Overall Brazilian exports in the sector totalled US$ 7.85 billion from January to September, a 27.5% rise over the same period of last year. However, the machinery and equipment sector is running a US$ 3.2 billion bilateral trade deficit. Imports this year stood at US$ 11 billion, against US$ 8.16 billion during the same period of 2006.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
