Brazilian exports to the Arab world during the first three quarters of 2016 reached $10.3 billion, a decline of 6 per cent in comparison to the same period of 2015, with imports reaching $5 billion, a fall of 25 per cent over the same period.

However, November’s results signal a positive trend or, at least, the maintenance of the levels achieved, according to a spokesperson for Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC).

Brazil’s exports to the Arab world totaled $935 million in November, a 10 per cent climb over the same month of last year, according to data from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC) that were compiled by ABCC. Sales to two of the region’s main markets presented a sharp increase: Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

“With the rise in oil prices, the trend is for them to have more resources to spend with imports,” remarked CEO of ABCC, Michel Alaby. The prices of the commodity started to go up on November 30 when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) ratified the so-called Algiers Agreement, which calls for a reduction of 1.2 million barrels per day in the output of member countries.

The top five most exported products from Brazil to the GCC are meat, ores/slags/ash, sugars, inorganic chemicals, and cereals. On the other hand, the five main products imported by Brazil from the GCC are mineral fuels, fertilisers, plastics, organic chemicals, and aluminium, said Alaby. 

Brazil mostly exports food items to the GCC, in addition to gold, machinery/parts, and defence materials. The most popular imported products remain mineral fuels and fertilisers, which account for more than 90 per cent of all Brazilian imports from the GCC.

Commenting on the outlook for the current year, he said: “We look forward to more robust and mutually beneficial trade and investment relations between Brazil and the Arabian Gulf as we look at increasing trade missions to the regions an encouraging our Arab entrepreneur partners to visit Brazil.  For one, we are planning to organise an economic forum in Brazil to discuss and analyse how to improve the economic ties between the two regions.”

Brazilian exporters’ main partners in the GCC include Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Oman. The main GCC suppliers for Brazilian imports, meanwhile, are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.

Imports, meanwhile, reached the total of $413 million last month, a drop of 42 per cent over November of last year. Year-to-date, purchases totaled $5 billion, a fall of 25 per cent over the period from January to November of 2015.

According to Alaby, this happened due to a decline in average prices of items imported from the region, since total volume bought by Brazil increased. The main products sold were oil, gas and products, and fertilisers.

However, in both November and year-to-date there was an increase in imports of fish and electrical material. Fish came from Morocco and Oman, and electrical material came especially from Morocco, Tunisia, UAE and Egypt.

For over 60 years, ABCC has worked to fulfill its mission of fostering economic, culture, and tourism ties between Arabs and Brazilians. “Our goal is to cement and broaden partnerships, create opportunities, and most of all bring Brazilians and Arabs closer together,” he added.