Brazil chicken: UAE, Saudi purchases up 30%

The United Arab Emirates was the top destination for Brazilian chicken exports in October, while Saudi Arabia ranked second. The two Arab countries increased their purchases of Brazilian chicken by about 30% last month from a year earlier, according to data released by meat lobby group ABPA on Monday (9).

The UAE’s purchases totaled 53,200 tonnes, up 29.8% from 41,000 tonnes in the same month last year. Saudi Arabia bought 47,900 tonnes, 30.6% more than the 36,600 tonnes recorded in October 2025.

Looking specifically at seaborne shipments, Datamar data show that Brazil exported 30,789 TEUs of chicken meat to Saudi Arabia between January and September 2026. See more details on this trade flow below:

Chicken Meat Exports to Saudi Arabia | Jan 2024 – Sep 2026 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner – explore our trade data

China was the third-largest destination last month, with 46,800 tonnes, followed by Japan with 38,700 tonnes and South Africa with 30,100 tonnes. China and Japan increased their purchases, while South Africa’s declined.

Across all markets, Brazil exported 512,800 tonnes in October, including fresh and processed products, up 2.3% from 501,400 tonnes in the same month last year. Export revenue reached USD 994.1 million, 14.9% higher than the USD 865.4 million recorded in October 2025.

From January to October, Brazilian chicken exports reached 4.9 million tonnes, up 12.7% from the same period last year, with revenue of USD 9.7 billion, a 20.4% increase. China led purchases in the first 10 months of the year, followed by the UAE, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the European Union.

“Brazil’s sanitary regionalization agreements were key to keeping restrictions limited to the areas covered by the protocols and maintaining most export flows. This mechanism reduced the impact of Newcastle disease cases identified in birds with no clinical signs. The October result was also linked to the diversification of destinations and the ability to redirect shipments as negotiations continue to restore markets still subject to restrictions,” ABPA President Ricardo Santin said in a statement released by the association.

Brazil identified outbreaks of Newcastle disease between late October and this month at commercial poultry farms in western Santa Catarina state. Several countries imposed purchase restrictions in response, but all are limited to the state where the outbreaks occurred, allowing purchases from other regions. Due to Brazil’s international animal health commitments, the government does not authorize exports of products from the restricted area, which covers the municipalities of Nova Itaberaba, Águas Frias, Coronel Freitas and Nova Erechim, where the outbreaks were identified.

Source: Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA)

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