São Paulo – Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates increased the volume of their poultry imports from Brazil in September. The Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA) reported this Wednesday (14th) that 63,200 tons of chicken were shipped to Saudi Arabia in September, up 10% from a year ago. Sales to the UAE reached 23,700 tons, up 7%.
In the overall ranking of Brazilian poultry export destinations, Saudi Arabia remained in the lead. The UAE ranked 5th. China imported 26,800 tons in September, up 33%. In a statement, ABPA said imports by these top buyers prevented a slump in sales stemming from the agricultural inspection workers strike.
Overall, however, shipped volumes in September were down 0.5% from a year ago to 366,400 tons. Revenues reached BRL 2.3 billion, up 35.8% from a year ago. Revenues in US dollars, however, fell 18.9% to USD 592 million. The discrepancy is due to the weakening of Brazil’s real relative to the US currency.
From January to September, the Middle East remained the leading destination of Brazilian poultry exports. Sales to the region amounted to 1.153 million tons, up 11%. Asia ranked second with 918,900 tons, and Africa was third with 385,500 tons, up 1.2%.
ABPA’s vice president for Poultry, Ricardo Santin, remarked that even a few “topical” reductions, such as the 4.2% drop in sales to the European Union, are unlikely to detract from the overall export performance. The association is expecting 3% growth in 2015 from 2014.
By the end of September, exports had reached 3.186 million tons, up 4.8% from 2014. Revenues reached BRL 17.3 billion, up 26.6% from a year ago. Revenues in US dollars dropped 9.1% to USD 5.4 billion.
Agribusiness
Brazilian agribusiness exports reached USD 7.24 billion in September, down 12.7% from a year ago. According to the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, the plummeting revenues are a consequence of the prices of the “main agriculture products exported from Brazil.”
However, what declined were export revenues, rather than volumes. According to the Ministry, soy exports increased 38.8% year-on-year in September. Revenues stood at USD 1.97 in September this year, and USD 1.99 in September 2014.
Agribusiness imports reached USD 954.93 million and the industry posted a USD 6.29 billion surplus. Its share in total exports from Brazil in September was 44.8%.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
