Brazilian exports to the Arab League entered the last quarter of 2024 with indications that they should close the year with a new record in revenue, according to the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.

From January to September, sales to the 22 countries of the diplomatic entity increased 25.64% over the previous period, to US$ 17.72 billion. The surplus generated in the period totals US$ 9.74 billion, which already exceeds that of the entire last year, US$ 8.68 billion.

The agenda was led by sugar, animal proteins and iron ore. All of these products saw high demand, indicating that the region continues to have high consumption and its infrastructure projects in full swing, even with the recent revisions in government investments in the post-oil economy.

Agribusiness accounted for 74.85% of exports. The sector's sales increased by 25.52%, to US$ 13.26 billion, with sugar, chicken, corn, beef and soybeans leading the shipments, all of them registering double-digit increases in volumes shipped, with the exception of soybeans, which fell by 7%.

Sugar sales grew by 47.80%, to US$ 4.97 billion, with the United Arab Emirates leading the purchases. The Gulf country purchased US$ 997.26 million of the product, three times the amount purchased in the previous period. The sugar was mainly destined for re-export, with the product even being repackaged under Emirati labels.

Chicken sales grew 9.72%, to almost US$ 2.76 billion, with the United Arab Emirates at the top of the list of purchases (US$ 744.17 million, up 10.21%), followed by Saudi Arabia (US$ 628.04 million, -1.52%, but up 5.32% in volume) and Iraq (US$ 319.69 million, +40.13%), the country that recorded one of the largest increases in demand in the region. Corn, used as an input for chicken meat production and the food industry, especially in Saudi Arabia, which has poultry farms owned by Brazilian companies and local state-owned companies, saw sales increase by 35.04%, to US$ 1.52 billion. The grain is on par with soybeans, which saw a 23.05% drop in revenue, to US$ 986.13 million. Record - Beef sales are already a record, even surpassing the total sold in 2019, the best year in the series. From January to September, revenues increased 88.95%, to US$ 1.44 billion, with the United Arab Emirates in the lead (US$ 547.02 million, +168.56%), followed by Egypt (US$ 244.37 million, +22.54%) and Saudi Arabia (US$ 203.04 million, +26.13%).

According to Mohamad Mourad, secretary general of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, the results reinforce the importance of Arab markets in exports. “Since the end of the 1970s, the Arabs have been developing growing and complementary trade relations with Brazil, with our country acting in the bloc's food security”, he states.

For Mourad, the escalating conflict in the Middle East should be seen as a point of attention for the entire export sector. The executive emphasizes, however, that the situation has not yet directly affected the region's major markets and has not been able to slow down the pace of shipments so far.

“Previous conflicts have increased logistics costs, but they have never significantly affected sales, especially since we export many basic necessities,” he recalls. “We hope that this one ends as soon as possible.”

The executive also expects shipments to continue at a strong pace in this final stretch of the year, with importers seeking to reinforce stocks for Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, which begins earlier next year, at the end of February.

Source: Notícias Agrícolas