Brazil's trade relations with the Arab World grow in 2017

Brazil’s trade relations with the Middle East scaled new heights in 2017, recording a year-on-year growth of 18.43% in exports from US$11.5 billion in 2016 to 13.6 billion in 2017 and 23.37% in imports from $5.2 billion in 2016 to 6.4 billion in 2017.

The figures were released by the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC).

Brazilian exports to Saudi Arabia accounted for $2.6 billion, up 6.9% from 2016, while exports to the UAE amounted to $2.5 billion, up 12.2% YoY. Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait received Brazilian goods worth $695 million, $339 million and US$222 million respectively in 2017.

In 2017, exports from Saudi Arabia to Brazil amounted to $1.9 billion, up 44.72% from 2016, while UAE exported goods worth $186 million. Exports from Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait to Brazil amounted to $138 million, $94 million and $135 million respectively.

The most exported Brazilian items to Arab countries in 2017 were cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose in solid form; meat and edible offal of both fresh and frozen poultry; iron ores and concentrates including roasted iron pyrites; maize; meat of bovine animals; artificial corundum, aluminum oxide and aluminum hydroxide; and motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for passenger transport.

The most imported items to Brazil from the Arab countries, on the other hand, include mineral fuels, mineral oils, bituminous substances and mineral waxes; fertilisers; plastic; salt and sulphur; earth and stone; plastering materials, lime and cement; organic chemicals; and fish, crustaceans and mollusks.

Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce president Rubens Hannun said: “Brazil and the Arab World have always maintained great trade relations and the export-import figures for 2017 reflect uninterrupted growth. We expect the trend to continue into 2018 and beyond, riding high on the success brought in by the shared commitment by both parties to encourage more productive trade relations.”