Middle East Tops League for Brazil's Chicken Imports
BRAZIL - The Middle East remains the leading destination for Brazilian poultry meat exporters, with Hong Kong the top country.Markets in the region absorbed 26 per cent of Brazilian exports from January to April. Five Arab nations are in the list of 10 largest buyers. Sales totalled US$ 1.69 billion.
The Middle East remains the leading market for Brazilian chicken abroad, according to figures disclosed on 25 May by the Brazilian Poultry Exporters Association (Abef). The region absorbed 26 per cent of Brazilian exports from January to April this year.
Asia comes in second, with 24 per cent, followed by the European Union (14 per cent), Africa (eight per cent), South America (six per cent) and Russia (two per cent). Other destinations answered to 10 per cent of sales, according to the Abef.
Five out of the 10 leading importing countries of Brazilian chicken are Arab. Saudi Arabia ranks second, the United Arab Emirates rank fifth, Kuwait is seventh, Iraq is ninth, and Yemen, tenth.
The main importer during the period was Hong Kong, according to Abef. Also on the list is Japan, in the third place, the Netherlands, in fourth, Venezuela, in sixth, and South Africa, in the eighth place.
Foreign sales of chicken generated revenues of US$ 1.69 billion from January to April, the latter having been the best month, with revenues of nearly US$ 480 million. Shipments totalled 1.74 million tonnes in the four months of the year, with almost 330,000 shipped in April alone.
The main Brazilian exporting states of chicken are Santa Catarina, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso and the Federal District, in this order. The South of the country accounts for 75.8 per cent of foreign sales.