São Paulo – Presence of football fans in the Gulf countries due to the Qatar World Cup has boosted meat sales to the region, according to data made public by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC). A survey shows that Brazilian poultry exports to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman grew by 37.14% from January to October 2022 to USD 2.059 billion, while beef exports were up 30.87% to USD 459.53 million.
Many Gulf Cooperation Council (GCG) states have welcomed tourists for the world tournament. Host country Qatar posted the highest growth rate in poultry imports at 66.7% to USD 177.98 million. In July, August and September, Brazil sent an average of 11,580 tonnes of poultry a month to Qatar. From January to June, the average had been 7,990 tonnes.
As for beef, Qatar posted the second highest growth in purchases, only behind Kuwait. Beef product exports to the country were up 91.27% to USD 31.45 million. During the months of July, August and September, shipments reinforced the stocks. The monthly average was 528.90 tonnes compared to 478.22 tonnes sold in the first six months of the year.
ABCC secretary-general Tamer Mansour was quoted as saying in a statement that the World Cup, the Club World Cup in the UAE, Formula 1 GPs in the region and the resumption of the pilgrimage to holy cities in Saudi Arabia have played an important role in Brazilian protein sales. According to him, these events have attracted a significant number of tourists to the Gulf countries, thus stimulating the hotel industry and food sales. “More Brazilian meats have been sold to all countries. Almost all of them have posted an increase in volume, despite the Arab efforts to increase local protein production,” Mansour said.
According to the ABCC, overall exports from Brazil to the 22 Arab League countries reached USD 14.47 billion in the first ten months of the year, up 25.71% from a year ago, with poultry, sugar, iron ore, maize, soybeans, beef and wheat seeing the highest values. “We are bound to see a new export record high in 2022,” Mansour believes.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda