In 2022, Brazilian agriculture managed to export its products at higher prices, according to data compiled by the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
According to the entity, each ton of products exported by the sector generated an average of US$ 680.59 to Brazil, an increase of 18.95% over the income achieved in the businesses exported throughout 2021.
Although the variation should be analyzed with caution because it is diluted among more than 190 categories of products sold abroad, the analysis of prices indicates even greater increases in the items that front the basket.
The appreciation is attributed by the entity to global inflation, which pushed up costs with fuel, inputs and logistics processes in the wake of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Decisive, however, was the strong demand for commodities food products abroad, especially those subject to inventory, which allowed exporters not only to pass on the rise in costs, but also to expand margins.
“In most products, prices rose to accompany the increase in production costs, but there were many situations in which readjustments occurred above the general average and significantly above Brazilian inflation. [5,79%, segundo o IBGE], especially in the items that lead the agenda. The dollar strengthened against real, favored margins. These data lead us to believe that exporters have made important gains in many businesses”, analyzes Tamer Mansour, Secretary General of the entity.
In 2022, Brazilian agricultural exports totaled US$135.157 billion, an increase of 35.41% over the previous year. Among the ‘top 10’ on the agenda, coffee was the most appreciated product. Businesses involving the grain were exported at an average price 56.93% higher, on average US$4,000.42 per ton, in the group of buying countries. Next comes maize, with a rise of 37.85% and an average price of US$282.65 per tonne. Soy follows the ranking, with an increase of 31.75% and an average price of US$ 591.20 per ton. Soybean oil comes next, with an average price 23.80% higher, in this case US$1,512.27 per tonne. The birds appreciated 22.69%, with the tonne selling at US$2,007.84.
In the 22 Arab countries, of special interest to the chamber of commerce, the agricultural basket was traded at an average price 14.40% higher, in this case US$570.84 per ton. Compared to the average price of sales to all countries, which increased by 18.95%, these numbers indicate that the Arabs were able to negotiate food at lower prices relative to the entire planet, which was confirmed in important items in the basket , such as beef (US$4,404.13 per tonne in the Arab League, against US$5,753.74 in the world), soy (US$579.84 and US$591.20), maize (US$273.96 and US$282.65) , sugar ($395.15 and $403.20), coffee ($3,962.57 and $4,000.42) and wheat ($310.83 and $314.80).
However, there were cases in which the Brazilians succeeded in forcing prices that were more in their interest. One of these situations occurred in the chicken trade, a product that stands out in the agenda for the Arab League. The Arabs, who have made billionaire contributions to expand the local supply of poultry protein and depend less on imported poultry, paid an average of US$2,171.98 per ton of Brazilian chicken, a 26.35% increase over the price of the previous year and slightly above the values practiced worldwide (US $ 2,022.89).
For Mansour, the premium paid by the Arab buyer to Brazilian slaughterhouses shows the competitiveness of the sector, which has specialized in serving the Arab League since the 1970s, with a regular supply of Islamic-style chicken (halal), in whole pieces weighing between 0.8 and 1.2 kg, as the block customer prefers.
“The high specialization of the poultry slaughter farms has once again allowed the sector to place chicken in the Arab markets in the quantities, in the standard, at the price demanded and even more competitive than the local chicken which is subsidized by oil,” says Mansour.
Last year, the 22 countries of the Arab League absorbed 1/3 of the national chicken exports. The region generated revenue of US$3.169 billion, up 30.88% from 2021. Volumes grew 4.18% to 4.42 million tonnes, another indication of appreciation.
###