According to the meat lobby, the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA), the month of Ramadan, which takes place in the month of April every year, is the primary sales driver. During Ramadan, Muslims fast during the day hours but usually break their fast with a huge evening meal.
Dubai is one out of 58 countries that purchases Brazil’s halal chicken. In February 2022, the UAE has increased its chicken purchases by around 90%, reaching a total of 42,800 tonnes. The imports of China were just 500 tonnes less, at around 42,300 tonnes.
Ricardo Santin, Head of ABPA, said, “Islamic countries were the first locations for Brazilian exports of chicken meat, in 1975,” while adding that there are long-term development prospects.
A major commitment by Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), a UAE-based company, will mean that it will only source cage-free eggs in the Carrefour stores that it owns in around 30 markets in the Middle East, and Africa and Asia. MAF is the first Middle Eastern retailer to make a cage-free promise.
ABPA stated that halal chicken exports represented around half of Brazil’s overall exports of chicken in 2021, reaching 1.915 million tonnes, creating almost US $3 billion in sales.
Halal chicken exports increased 5.17% by volume in January and February, reaching 310,400 tonnes and boosting revenue by 25% to almost US$510 million in that time.
In 2021, halal chicken sales to the UAE tallied 9% of all Brazilian chicken exports (389,400 tonnes), creating revenue of some US$692 million, as per the ABPA.
Poultry stays a comparatively affordable source of animal protein in the UAE, and total imports in 2021 were predicted at 415,000 mt and at 445,000 mt in 2022.
As a result of lower poultry costs and retrieval in tourism, travel, and business from the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, consumption is predicted to grow to 456,000 mt in 2022 from an estimated 441,000 mt in 2021.