Isaura Daniel*
São Paulo – Somalia became the fourth largest importer of Brazilian products among the Arab countries in February. The African country purchased US$ US$ 17.93 million in Brazilian products, 172% more than the US$ 6.5 million purchased in the same month in 2005. In February last year, Somalia was only in 12th place among the Arab importers and in 2005 as a whole, the country was the 18th buyer.
What has generated an impulse to exports from Brazil to the Somalis was sugar. Of the total imported by the country in the period, just US$ 5,600 was spent on different products. "This shows the Brazilian competitiveness in the sugar market, stated the secretary general of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Michel Alaby. According to him, this movement is already a reflex of the reduction of European subsidies to sugar and indicates that the markets in Africa, mainly the former European colonies, are going to buy from Brazil.
In February, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates alone, among the Arabs, purchased more from Brazil than Somalia. In January and February this year, Somalia purchased US$ 23.2 million in Brazilian products, 146% more than in the same period in 2005. In the whole of last year, Brazil had revenues of US$ US$ 44.9 million with exports to Somalia. In both periods, purchases were basically sugar.
"The Somalis are buyers of commodities," stated Alaby. Although 65% of the country economy is connected to agriculture, Somalia imports various kinds of commodities. Local farmers only breed cattle, sheep and goats and grow bananas, sorghum, maize, coconut, rice, sugarcane, mangoes, sesame seed and beans, as sell as fish. The country has sugar refineries, but they do not produce large volumes. This is so true that one of the main country imports is sugar.
A large part of the working population survives from agriculture. Livestock answers to 65% of country exports, according to figures supplied by the North American government. The secretary general of the Arab Brazilian Chamber believes that Brazil may also sell agricultural machinery to Somalia. The country does not have oil, but has 2.8 billion cubic metres of gas, which generate exports of US$ 241 million a year. "The country has natural gas, one of the strongest growing alternative energies that has been gaining more and more importance around the world," stated Alaby.
The local industry, composed mainly of food processors and textile industries, answers to 10% of the country Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the service sector to 25%. The Somali GDP is estimated at US$ 4.8 billion and grew around 2.4% last year. The main foreign suppliers to Somalia are Djibouti, Kenya, India, Brazil, Oman and the Emirates. The main importers of Somali products, in turn, are the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Oman. The country has revenues of approximately US$ 241 million with exports a year and purchases US$ 576 million with imports.
Difficult years
The population of the Arab country is 8.5 million people. Of them, however, just 3.7 million are part of the labour force. Internal conflicts and climate problems, like droughts, have affected the growth of the country. Somalia is currently trying to recover after a 15-year-long civil war, which began in 1991, when groups of rebels ousted dictator Siad Barre.
Currently, Somalia has a transition government that operates with the aid of the United Nations (UN). Last year the country parliament was elected, with 82 representatives, and the first national police was established. The country parliament met at the end of February to discuss the formation of a definitive government.
*Translated by Mark Ament