São Paulo – Soya sales from Brazil to the Arab countries are expected to go up, says a study from the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC). International prices are poised to increase in the next few years, and worldwide exports are also poised to climb.
The MI Dept. ascertained that the product’s market potential owes itself to its uses as human food as well as animal feed. The tax load on soya sales from Brazil to Arab countries is also considered to be light.
No tax at all is levied on exports from Brazil to Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt, which took in much of the product sold.
Other potential markets named by the MI Dept. are Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Sudan, where shopping habits are changing and income is expected to rise.
Soya consumption is increasing very sharply relative to increments in income, especially in developing countries. The International Monetary Fund predicts that income will rise – and population will increase – in most Arab countries between 2020 and 2025, the study asserts.
Moreover, growing livestock farming in some Arab countries enables sales of soya for cattle feed, case in points being Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Tunisia.
Potential and challenges
Soya and soya products are a major component of Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and agricultural export numbers. Also, soya is used as a replacement for milk in products including soya milk and soya cheese; as ingredient in items such as soy bread, soybean paste and soy flour; and in vegan meat replacement products, which is sought after by Arab youth.
In developing countries, a so-called “nutritional transition” would also leverage soya imports. This can come about due to rapid socioeconomic, demographic or technological changes resulting in a gradual replacement of domestically-made oils and fats for other products.
Although soya is seen as a product that could potentially reduce food insecurity, the study points out that soya farming is unlikely to be introduced or expanded in African developing countries. The market poses challenges including the fact that a few countries, including the United States, Brazil, China and Argentina, account for nearly 90% of global output. Soya monoculture is also met with mounting criticism due to the expansive planted areas it requires.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
