Islamic Inspection Service - SIILHalal

Arab country purchased 71,400 tonnes last year. Spearheaded by China, exports hit record levels in both volume and revenue.

Brazil posted a record-high in beef exports in both volume and revenue in 2019. It shipped 1.847 million tonnes, up 12.4% from 2018. Revenue was up 15.5%, to USD 7.59 billion. The figures were made public by Brazilian Beef Exporters Association (Abiec).

Throughout 2019,China boosted exports and took the lead in purchases. The Chinese demand in 2019 accounted for 26.7% of exports from Brazil, grossing 494,078 tonnes, up 53.2%. In revenue, growth was of 80%, to USD 2.67 billion.

The Asian country wasn’t the only prominent market, tough. The United Arab Emirates imported 71,397 tonnes of beef from Brazil in 2019. The figure is 93% higher than 2018. “The figures show how well accepted and competitive Brazilian beef is abroad,” Abiec president Antonio Camardelli was quoted as saying in a press release.

But Egypt, the Brazilian product’s Arab top buyer and third largest market, bought less. In 2019, it bought 16,643 tonnes, down 9.4% from 2018. Revenues dropped by 9%, to USD 478.46 million. Last December, Abiec chairman Antônio Camardelli had told ANBA that the slowdown in sales to Egypt was partly due to the fact that some meat packers got the green light to export to China.

Another large buyer in the region, Saudi Arabia, has kept the volume stable. The country purchased 42,547 tonnes in 2018 and 42,119 in 2019. Revenue reached late 2019 down by 9% from 2018, grossing USD 142.27 million.

The Arab bloc received 390,183.26 tonnes of the product from Brazil in 2019. Exports to the group over the period yielded a revenue of USD 1,17 billion.

Source: Anba/Abiec