Of the total 423,700 tonnes exported, they took a massive 283,700 tonnes of it. Revenues reached US$ 336 million from a total of US$ 503 million.

"That is certainly our main market," claims Domingos Martins, president at the Union and Association of Poultry Slaughterhouses and Farmers of the State of Paraná (Sindiavipar). The performance, according to Martins, is the result of the quality of the state's produce, and of the sector's adaptation to Islamic norms for slaughter, which is essential in order to sell to the region. "Our companies are modern, and some of them are especially designed to cater to that market," he explains.

Exchange revenues from exports by the poultry sector in Paraná reached US$ 503 million last year. The Arab countries answered US$ 336.2 million of that volume, or 66.8%. The president at Sindiavipar forecasts a promising future for the relations between the two regions. "We are investing both in farming and in new industrial plants," says Martins. That should create better conditions of catering to the Arab demand for poultry meat from Paraná, which should continue to grow.

Leadership

The state of Paraná led the ranking for poultry production and slaughter in Brazil in 2007. According to a survey conducted by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE), last year the state answered to 25.32% of total domestic production. In Paraná, slaughter grew 11.02%, rising from 994.01 million birds slaughtered in 2006 to 1.1 billion in 2007.

According to the IBGE, the growth was partly due to the reduction of slaughter in 2006, caused by repercussions of bird flu and foot and mouth disease incidence in other countries. After Paraná, the second largest producer state for poultry in Brazil is Santa Catarina, responsible for 18.9% of domestic production. According to the IBGE, 824.3 million chickens were produced in the state in 2007. The state of Rio Grande do Sul, also in southern Brazil, ranks third, having answered to the production and slaughter of 734 million birds.