Islamic Inspection Service - SIILHalal

Mansour: Logistics is normalizing

Mansour also believes that the Arab markets are rebuilding inventory in the wake of Ramadan, which ran from late April to late May this year. Ramadan is the time of year when Muslims go on a fast during daytime and then get together and feast once the sun sets. Arab countries will usually stock up on food leading up to it. “You had your stockpiles up until Ramadan, and now it’s running out,” says Mansour.

The ABCC’s secretary-general explains that demand is usually slow-going in Arab countries in July, a time of vacations and hot weather. “These people wouldn’t normally be in the Arab countries. They’d be vacationing elsewhere, but since this is an atypical year, people are stuck at home, and so the demand starts to come up,” he says.

Moreover, the hike in exports of products such as iron ore indicates that markets are picking up across the region. “It shows that life, in terms of civil construction and industry, is going back to normal,” says Mansour. Iron ore is a raw material for making steel, which in turn is an input for making cars and civil construction equipment such as concrete, pipes, screws, beams, etc.

Iron ore exports from Brazil to Arab countries climbed 117% to USD 177.5 million in July from June. Aside from ore, exports were driven by sugar, up 30.6% to USD 336.6 million, poultry, up 13% to USD 149.8 million, and beef, up 2.3% to USD 102.6 million.

Year-on-year in July, exports from Brazil to the Arab countries were down 6% – exports decreased year-on-year in every month of 2020. Month-on-month exports went up in March and May. Year-to-date through July, sales came out to USD 6.2 billion, 12.2% year-on-year.

Source: ANBA