UAE becomes Brazil's largest chicken buyer in September at 45,900 tonnes, up 23%, as Gulf demand outruns the EU

The UAE took 45,900 tonnes of Brazilian chicken meat in September 2026, up 23.3 percent year on year - Brazil's largest single destination for the month, ahead of the EU, China and Saudi Arabia.

The Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA) reported on 4 November 2026 that Brazilian chicken meat exports, fresh and processed, reached 500,300 tonnes in September, 3.7 percent above the 482,300 tonnes of September 2025. Revenue rose 14.7 percent to USD 984.2 million from USD 857.9 million. For January to September the total was 4.421 million tonnes, up 14 percent, worth USD 8.673 billion, up 21 percent. The September release is the most recent monthly destination breakdown ABPA has published.

Among destinations the UAE ranked first with 45,900 tonnes, against 37,200 tonnes in September 2025. The European Union followed with 43,500 tonnes, then China with 40,900 tonnes, Saudi Arabia with 38,300 tonnes (up 7.4 percent from 35,700) and Japan with 33,600 tonnes (down 7.7 percent from 36,400). The UAE and Saudi Arabia together took 84,200 tonnes, or 16.8 percent of the month's total.

Two of the published figures need a note on the base. The EU line of 43,500 tonnes compares with 3,900 tonnes a year earlier, and China's 40,900 tonnes compares with 51,000 tonnes; ABPA attributes both swings to the very low September 2025 base, when shipments were still affected by the suspensions that followed Brazil's single recorded outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in commercial production in 2025. ABPA president Ricardo Santin also said the EU figure covers product produced and certified up to 2 September 2026, since a temporary suspension of new certificates took effect on 3 September, and that exporters and importers brought volumes forward ahead of that date.

On the supply side Parana remained the leading exporting state with 199,700 tonnes, up 9.5 percent, followed by Santa Catarina with 111,000 tonnes (down 4.8 percent), Rio Grande do Sul with 67,900 tonnes (up 4.2 percent), Sao Paulo with 28,300 tonnes (down 9.1 percent) and Goias with 27,200 tonnes (up 25.8 percent).

• Gulf is the growth engine: the UAE at 45,900 tonnes (+23.3 percent) and Saudi Arabia at 38,300 tonnes (+7.4 percent) both grew year on year, and the UAE alone took 9.2 percent of all Brazilian chicken exported in the month.
• China fell back: 40,900 tonnes against 51,000 tonnes a year earlier - a reminder that Chinese demand, not supply, is the swing factor in the price of leg quarters this season.
• The EU line is not a demand signal: 43,500 tonnes against 3,900 tonnes reflects the 2025 base and pre-3 September certification, not a step change in European consumption.
• Freight moves the other way: Maersk's emergency operational cost recovery surcharge on container imports into Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq and the UAE is USD 2,000 per container from 9 November 2026, reefers included - about USD 71 per tonne on a 28-tonne load, on top of ocean freight.
• Ramadan timing: with Ramadan 2027 starting in February, the import window for Gulf buyers falls in December and January, which is when Brazilian and Indian volumes compete for the same reefer slots.

For buyers in Dubai and the wider Gulf the useful reading is that supply is available and diversified, and that the constraint sits in freight and documentation rather than in the availability of product. Nau International Food Group supplies halal frozen poultry and frozen meat from HACCP-certified, GACC-registered plants (establishment numbers 0900 / 03003), with halal, veterinary health and certificate of origin issued for each shipment, and arranges customs clearance into Dubai, including DDP Jebel Ali, on request. For specifications, packing data and current offers, write to info@naufoodgroup.com.

Source: ABPA monthly export release for September 2026, reported by The Poultry Site on 4 November 2026; Maersk rate announcement of 27 October 2026 on the Gulf emergency operational cost recovery surcharge.