MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil diversifying protein markets, Britain and Egypt with Halal cuts

Minerva one of Brazil's leading beef exporter has reached a supply agreement with British Hilton Food Solutions, belonging to Hilton Food PLCs protein trading company

Brazil, one of the world's largest exporters of beef is diversifying markets since its sales are concentrated in China and Hong Kong, a situation very similar to that of neighboring Mercosur partners, Uruguay and Argentina.

With this in mind Brazil is targeting Britain and Egypt among other market options. In the UK, Minerva one of Brazil's leading beef exporter has reached a supply agreement with British Hilton Food Solutions, belonging to Hilton Food PLCs protein trading company.

Likewise Brazil in the first half of the year exported 71,000 tons of beef Halal rite, to Egypt, equivalent to US$ 274 million, representing volume and value increase of 232% and 268% respectively..

Minerva in a release said the agreement will allow expanding operations in the food service, processed food industry, and retail in the United Kingdom, which is a great opportunity to ”understand market dynamics, define the profile of local costumers, and expand our presence in the country,” said Fernando Queiroz, CEO of Minerva Foods.

The Brazilian Beef Exporters Association, ABIEC, said that protein trade (beef, lamb and chicken) with Arab countries continues to grow, with the League of Arab States purchasing more than 100,000 tons, Halal rite beef, in the first six months of 2022, which represents US$ 385 million.

ABIEC pointed out that in the first half of the year, Brazil beef shipments totaled US$ 6,2 billion, a 52% increase in value and 21,5% in volume compared to the first six months in 2021.

It is worth noting that attaining halal certification, a quality label for any Muslim community is required to access the Arab market. The certification procedure examines the whole supply chain, including raw materials, inputs, transportation, and storage, to guarantee no cross-contamination with illegal items such as pork.

Halal-certified companies can meet Arab and Muslim consumers’ requirements, (a quarter of world's population) as well as supply markets that seek healthy and traceable produce. Furthermore, the halal certification strengthens the reputation of the Brazilian sector owing to the thoroughness of the evaluation procedure, boosting the Brazilian animal protein market’s competitive edge, concluded ABIEC.