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 Agribusiness exports from Brazil to the Middle East grew 33% in April in comparison with the same month of last year. Foreign sales of agribusiness products to Africa rose by 24.2%. Sales to Asia grew as well, by 20.9%.
These figures were supplied by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply. According to the ministry, these were the continents and economic blocs to which exports grew.
Overall revenues from exports have decreased. There was a 4.7% reduction in April over the same month of last year, down to US$ 5.48 billion. In April 2008, sales totaled US$ 5.75 billion. Some sectors, however, had a positive performance. Such was the case with sales of the soy complex (grain, oil and chaff), with growth of 12.2%, the sugar and alcohol complex, growth of 21.1%, livestock, growth of 14.6%, and beekeeping products, growth of 113.7%.
Exports of soy complex products, for instance, totaled to US$ 2.08 billion. Soybean answered to US$ 1.54 billion of that total. There was a reduction of 17.8% in the price of soybean, despite the volume sold having grown by 34.3%. Exports of the sugar and alcohol complex climbed from US$ 411 million to US$ 498 million. Sugar was the main item responsible for the good performance of foreign sales by the segment. Exports of the product grew 47.9%, having totaled US$ 405 million.
Products for which sales decreased were meats, minus 11.3%, leather and its products, minus 49.4%, forestry products, minus 10.9%, and coffee, minus 12.2%. Revenues from meat sales, for example, decreased from US$ 1.09 billion, in April last year, to US$ 970 million in the same month of this year. The reduction concerns beef sales. Exports of chicken meat recorded an increase.
Even though only Middle East, Africa and Asia recorded growth in purchases of Brazilian agribusiness products, there was also growth outside of these blocs and regions, to other individual countries. Such was the case with France, which bought 14.5% more. Most of the importing nations that stood out, however, are from the regions mentioned above. China increased its purchases by 20.1%, Japan, 46%, and Saudi Arabia, 33.9%.
In the accumulated result for the last 12 months, Brazilian agribusiness exports grew 14% and totaled US$ 70 billion. A surplus of US$ 59.1 billion was recorded during the period, as Brazilian imports were equivalent to US$ 11.1 billion.
Anba
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