The Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce revealed that Brazil's exports to 22 Arab countries achieved record revenues of $17.7 billion in 2022, the highest level since 1989.
Revenues rose 23.06 percent from the previous year, which puts Arab countries on the list of major trading partners for the South American country, which does business with Europe and China as well.
Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa region buy their agricultural products mostly from Brazil, such as meat and grains.
It indicated that sales of these commodities represent 71 percent of Brazil's total exports to the region.
Similar to previous years, Brazil's poultry exports to Arab countries increased by 26.35 percent, as trade transactions between the two sides were not affected by Middle Eastern countries' attempts to increase their domestic production.
According to the Chamber, Arab countries paid an average of about $2,172 per ton of Brazilian chicken in 2022, while other countries paid only $2,022 per ton to Brazil.
The data highlights Brazil's importance as a supplier of halal food to the Arab world, which pays more for meat produced according to Islamic law.
The data also reflects the effects of strong import demand in the Middle East and North Africa region and the impact of global food price inflation on trade transactions.
The Chamber noted that the rate of inflation in global food prices increased due to the Corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which disrupted the flows of corn and wheat shipments globally and led to higher prices.
The Chamber added that Brazil's ability to produce large quantities of high-quality halal foods would help it to remain a large supplier of chicken, even as Arab countries pump investments to increase the volume of their domestic production.
Source (Al-Khaleej Emirates Newspaper, Edited)
