In a webinar promoted by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in May, the vice president of Brazil, Hamilton Mourão, pledged to help improve the flow of trade and investments between Brazil and the Arab countries, including the creation of a shipping route between the country and the region. The Middle East already represents an important region in the context of foreign trade, since the 15 countries that represent this region are responsible for 6.5% of total container shipping in the world. If the bloc were a single country, it would have the world’s third-largest volume, behind only China (28.5%) and the USA (6.9%). Looking at trade between Brazil and the Middle East, the volume traded is also quite expressive, with the region responsible for 6.5% of the total volume of TEU imported and exported (10% in exports and 2% in imports). As a basis for comparison, China represents 22% and the USA 13% of the volume of TEU imported and exported by Brazil. According to the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, in 2019 the Arab countries became the third-largest destination for Brazilian exports. In 2018, the region occupied fifth place in the ranking for recipients of Brazilian exports, with US$11.4 billion imported by the regional bloc. In 2019 the region ranked third, behind only China and the United States, with imports worth US$12.1 billion. Exports from Brazil to the Arab countries rose 6.3% in 2019 compared to the previous year. Despite this, there is still no direct sea route between Brazil and the Middle East. According to the Arab Brazilian Chamber, the organization has been working in partnership with the Union of Arab Chambers to formulate a strategy to create a direct maritime line, which should shorten the cost of transportation and the delivery time of goods. According to DataLiner data, of the countries that make up the Middle East, the three most significant trading partners are Saudi Arabia, receiving 25% of the volume exported, United Arab Emirates with 24% of the volume, and Turkey with 18%. The remaining volumes (33%) are divided into 10 countries. It is worth noting that there is no cargo flow between Brazil and Afghanistan and Lebanon.
Source: Brazil-Arab News Agency / Datamar News