According to a release issued by the ministry, the organisation's Foreign Relations secretary, Célio Porto, stated that Brazil has great potential for expanding foreign sales of eggs. However, farmers must unite into consortia in order to expand the production and be able to cater to the international demand.

According to the release, the director of the Department of International Promotion at the ministry, Eduardo Sampaio Marques, claimed that there is a strong demand for eggs in Middle Eastern countries, in Singapore and in Hong Kong.

Last year, Mr Porto and Mr Marques travelled to Arab countries and were able to take a close look at the local market. In the several meetings that they attended, eggs were among the products most sought by Arabs.

“Brazil may expand its current 8.5 per cent share of international egg trade. We have noticed an increase in sales to the Arab world and, during the trade missions to the Middle East, many importers showed interest in importing eggs from our country,” said Mr Marques, according to the release issued by the ministry.

According to the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Brazilian egg exports generated US$ 91.6 million in revenues last year, growth of 85 per cent over 2007. To Arab countries alone, sales in 2008 exceeded US$ 40 million, representing a more than fourfold increase when compared with the previous year.