Gulf’s taste for chicken boosts Brazilian exports

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• UAE imports up 18% in September
• Emiratis eat 10 chickens a year each
• Brazilian exports $1bn per annum

Saudi Arabia and the UAE has helped Brazil record the second-highest volume of chicken meat exports in a single month.

Shipments of chicken from Brazil in September increased 17.6 percent to the United Arab Emirates and 5.9 percent to Saudi Arabia.

Brazil, the world’s largest supplier of chicken meat, exported 485,000 tonnes in total last month.

The UAE is one of the biggest importers of Brazilian chicken meat, with only China importing more. 

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In 2023 the UAE bought almost 441,000 tonnes of chicken meat from Brazil, equal to more than 110 million chickens, or 10 chickens per head of population, according to the Brazilian meat industry lobby group ABPA. 

Saudi Arabia ranks fourth in Brazilian chicken imports, with 376,953 tonnes imported in 2023.

September’s chicken exports were up 22 percent year on year, according to ABPA, and Brazil’s chicken export revenue jumped by almost a third to $953.8 million.

“Eight of the top 10 importers posted strong increases, and even among those with lower performance on a monthly basis there was good news — it’s the case of China, which went back to importing more than 50,000 tons,” ABPA head Ricardo Santin said.

“With the increase in average export prices, we also had a significant rise in revenues in September.”

More than 30 percent of Brazil’s chicken exports go to the Middle East. Other significant importers of Brazilian chicken in the region include Iraq, Yemen, Kuwait and Oman.

The volume exported last month was second only to March 2023, when Brazil shipped 514,600 tons, ABPA said.

Exports to China decreased 3.4 percent year-on-year to 55,100 tons in September, but exceed the 16,000 tons shipped in August.