São Paulo – Minas Gerais state started to export to four new Arab countries in January: Palestine, Sudan, Somalia and Mauritania, with beef, sugars and iron ore among the products sold. They are part of a list of 17 countries that were not importers from the state. Besides these new trade partners, Minas Gerais businessmen are to promote this year new actions of the state’s products with Arab countries.
To ANBA, the assistant secretary for the Minas Gerais State Bureau of Economic Development, Rogério Bellini, said that he credits these sales to the four countries to the search for new partners done by the countries themselves and for the search made by the Brazilian producers for new clients. He pointed out, however, that these purchases are small ones and that it’s still early to confirm if they will become large importers of Minas Gerais products.
According to data from Central Exportaminas, a unit within the Minas Gerais State Bureau of Economic Development, Palestine imported US$ 388,200 of beef. Sales to Sudan grossed US$ 380,900 in poultry and confectionery products. Mauritania imported US$ 115,600 of poultry. Shipments of poultry and sugars to Somalia accounted for US$ 42,300. Other countries that started to import from Minas Gerais in January but aren’t Arab countries: Congo, Senegal, British Virgin Islands, Gabon, Martinique, Armenia, Seychelles, Aruba, Monaco, Bermuda, Hungary, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
“I believe that the sales we made in January to these Arab countries are the result of a window of opportunities, but still think it’s early to know if this can become a trend and remain throughout the year. The majority of products that they bought were meat or sugar”, said Bellini.
Increasing sales
In the last five years, Minas Gerais external sales increased at an annual average of 18.4%. In 2009, Minas exported US$ 1.049 billion to the Arabs. Last year, sales reached US$ 1.848 billion. Shipments to these countries accounted for, in 2014, to 6.3% of total exports. In 2009, they accounted for only 4.9% of the state’s exports.
The main products sold to Middle East and North Africa countries were iron ore, cane and beet sugar, poultry, malleable cast iron tubes, iron or steel and beef. Oman, where Vale owns a plant, is the main client, followed by United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Algeria, Yemen, Morocco and Lebanon. The majority of the products exported by Minas Gerais were shipped from the ports of Paranaguá, in Paraná, and Santos, in São Paulo.
“Minas Gerais has had a better performance than Brazil (in sales) to Arabs. The companies that are diversifying are conquering market share. We’re with a government in its early stages and we believe in the expansion of exports of higher added-value products”, he said. “I believe that the Arab countries will be watched more closely, we can bring potential buyers in to visit Minas Gerais and we can develop promotion action in these countries. It’s a strategy that should be clearer in the second semester”, he said.
Minas Gerais newly elected governor, Fernando Pimentel (PT), took office earlier in the year. Before, he was minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade in president Dilma Rousseff’s first term (2011-2014). During his time as head of the ministry, he took trade promotion trips to the Arab countries.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
