São Paulo – Exports from Brazil to the Arab nations grew 22% this year up to November, as against the same period in 2010, and one of the main factors for the increase was the higher prices of products sold. According to figures disclosed by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, revenues with sales to Arab world totalled US$ 13.8 billion in the first eleven months of the year, as against US$ 11.3 billion in the same period in 2010.
The CEO at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Michel Alaby, identified some items that had the greater growth in exports revenues than volume, pointing towards higher prices. This was the case with sugar, the main item in the basket, which answered to US$ 4.1 billion in exports, with growth of 13.6% in revenues. The volume of sugar shipped was seven million tonnes, as against eight million in 2010, a reduction of 13.2%.
At the top of the list there are also other foods, like chicken, with US$ 2.4 billion, maize, with US$ 638 million, and beef, with US$ 553 million. Alaby recalls that inflation, generated mainly due to food prices, is one of the problems in the region and is also one of the factors triggering conflict. For this reason, according to him, countries are importing more food as a way to calm their populations.
There was growth in the purchases of several countries that lived revolutions or popular protests, as was the case with Egypt, whose purchases rose 29%, to US$ 2.3 billion, Algeria, whose imports grew 72%, to US$ 1.3 billion, and Oman, whose purchases reached US$ 811 million, with growth of 600%, among others. In the case of Syria, however, there was a 29% reduction, with purchases of US$ 359.3 million.
The main Arab importers of Brazilian products in the period were, in this order, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Oman, Morocco, Bahrain, Tunisia and Iraq. The main products bought were sugar, ores, chicken, maize and beef.
November
In November alone, there was also growth in export revenues, which climbed from US$ 1.2 billion in the same month of 2010 to US$ 1.4 billion this year. The main products in the month were also sugar, ores, chicken, beef and maize. The main destinations, in turn, were Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Emirates. The CEO at the Arab Brazilian Chamber believes that exports should reach around US$ 1.2 billion in December, totalling US$ 15 billion this year, a performance considered satisfactory.
*Translated by Mark Ament
