São Paulo – Saudi Arabia is among the ten main buyers of products sold by Brazilian trading companies from January to May this year. A study by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade shows that the country was the eighth main destination for exports of these companies, only after China, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Italy, Germany and Belgium.
Among the 20 main destinations there are also other Arab countries, like Oman, in the 17th place, and Egypt, in the 20th position. In the period, trading companies had revenues of US$ 9.7 billion with exports, representing 9.9% of the total sold by the country on the foreign market. Sales to Saudi Arabia, however, dropped 50%, while those to Oman and Egypt grew 1,071% and 110%, respectively.
Export by trading companies to Saudi Arabia generated US$ 233.5 million and the country answered to 2.2% of the total. The main products exported were chicken, iron ore, maize in grain, soy, sugar, beef, preserved meats and wood. Oman imported the equivalent to US$ 135 million in products like ores, meats, sausages and meat preserves. Egypt purchased US$ 113 million and bought ores, sugar, poultry and beef, coffee, tanning extract (an input for the leather industry) and engine parts, among others.
In general, sector exports dropped 15% over the same period in 2011. The product list included mainly basic items. They answered to 82.7%. Among the industrialized products, manufactured goods answered to 10.7% and semi-manufactured goods to 6.6%. Trading companies had important participation in the country’s sales of frozen orange juice, iron ore, soluble coffee, maize in grain and chicken.
Trading companies are also importers and bought on the foreign market the equivalent to US$ 2.1 billion. This value was 2.4% of the total imported by the country in the period. Purchases were predominantly of industrialized products, which answered to 94.8% of the total. China was the main supplier, with US$ 507.3 million, followed by Argentina, the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Germany. The trade balance surplus for trading companies was US$ 7.5 billion.
*Translated by Mark Ament
