Bird Flu No Hit To Brazil's Exports To Arabs

(MENAFN- Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA)) São Paulo – Despite the bird flu outbreak reported in Rio Grande do Sul in May, Brazil's revenue from chicken meat exports to Arab countries in the first half of this year was almost the same as in the same period of 2024. According to data compiled by the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC ), exports reached USD 1.75 billion in the first half of the year, with a decline of only 0.53%.

In a statement released by its press office, the institution said the outbreak offset the roughly 10% growth in sales seen in the first four months of the year. However, the half-year results indicate that the Arab markets, with shipments resuming in June, continue to show strong demand, with importers maintaining long-term contracts with Brazilian meatpackers.

“We are currently seeing shipments at good levels, and we attribute this to the resumption of relations and the trust that exists between Brazilian meatpackers and their Arab partners. Situations like the bird flu outbreak in Rio Grande do Sul have happened before and have not prevented the resumption of exports, as Brazil has a great deal of credibility regarding its sanitary standards in the Arab world, producing with quality and exporting responsibly,” ABCC Secretary-General & International Relations Vice President Mohamad Mourad was quoted as saying in the statement.

The executive believes that the recent bird flu case reported on a subsistence farm in Ceará should not have an immediate impact on exports to Arab countries. Most of the supply to the bloc of nations comes from farms in southern Brazil, thousands of kilometers away from the outbreak. The outbreak in Rio Grande do Sul has already been resolved, and Brazil has regained its bird flu-free sanitary status.

Among Arab countries, only Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar still have some type of restriction on Brazilian chicken. Saudi Arabia and Oman restrict purchases only from Rio Grande do Sul. Qatar imposed restrictions on Montenegro, where the outbreak originated. The other Arab countries that had suspended or imposed some restriction on purchases from Brazil have already lifted them. Kuwait and Bahrain were the most recent to do so, according to data from Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

According to Mourad, the ABCC is updating Arab diplomatic missions in Brazil and the governments of the bloc that have reached out to the institution with official information about the outbreak in Ceará, following the same approach used during the Rio Grande do Sul episode to help facilitate the resumption of shipments.

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Translated by Guilherme Miranda

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