UAE and Saudi Arabia lift Brazilian chicken imports as Gulf demand keeps expanding

The UAE imported 44,200 tonnes of Brazilian chicken meat in August 2026, up 35.9% from a year earlier, and Saudi Arabia took 35,100 tonnes, up 29.9%. Gulf buying kept growing through a year in which trade routes and certification rules were both disrupted.

Monthly export data published by the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA) shows the Gulf remains one of the deepest and most reliable demand centres for imported poultry. The UAE was the second-largest destination for Brazilian chicken meat in August, after China, and ahead of the European Union, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

• UAE: 44,200 tonnes in August, +35.9% year on year - Brazil's second-largest market for the month.
• Saudi Arabia: 35,100 tonnes, +29.9% year on year - fourth-largest destination.
• China remained the single largest importer of Brazilian chicken meat in August, at 50,900 tonnes.
• Brazil's total August exports: 492,600 tonnes (+24.8% year on year), valued at US$997.8 million (+42.7%).
• January-August 2026: 3.9 million tonnes (+15.5%) and US$7.6 billion in revenue (+21.9%).

Two readings matter for Gulf importers. First, regional demand is not softening - volumes into the UAE and Saudi Arabia are rising faster than Brazil's overall export growth, which means the Gulf is taking share rather than simply following a rising tide. Second, buyers here are increasingly multi-origin: they hold Brazilian, Chinese, Russian and other supply lines in parallel so that certification changes in any one country do not interrupt the cold chain. Importers who maintain a second approved origin are the ones that kept full shelves through 2026.

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Source: Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA) monthly export data for August 2026, released 8 September 2026; reported by ANBA - Brazil-Arab News Agency.