xports to Arab countries were up 41% in 2013 from 2012 to 13,790 tonnes. Revenues reached US$ 11.89 million, up 54%. The information was supplied by the Brazilian Fruit Institute (Ibraf, in the Portuguese acronym).“The Arab market is very interesting and important to us. It is growing solidly each year,” said Ibraf Commercial Intelligence manager Cloves Ribeiro Neto. “It is a highly strategic market to our industry, because the bulk of our exports – 80% – go to the European Union, and we are working on building other markets,” the executive added.
Aside from the increase in 2013 from 2012, Ribeiro highlighted the increase in exports to Arabs from 2011 to 2013. “Exports to Arab countries increased by 115%. This is a significant rate, and we will keep working to consolidate our growth,” the Ibraf manager said.
The United Arab Emirates were the leading Arab export target for Brazilian fruit last year, at 10,910 tonnes. Sales also targeted other Arab countries, such as Oman, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Bahrain, Sudan, Qatar, Palestine and Lebanon.
The main fruits imported by Arab countries include lemons (8,200 tonnes), apples, melons, oranges, tangerines, grapes, mangoes and watermelons.
In 2013, Brazil 711,860 tonnes of fruit were exported from Brazil, up 2.72% from 2012. Export revenues amounted to US$ 657.52 million, up 6.26%.
