The Brazilian pet sector is getting organized to give its exports an added boost. The goal is to find investors and business partners in some key countries, especially the United Arab Emirates, Colombia, India, Peru, the United States, Russia and Japan.
"We've noticed that countries like India, Russia and the United Arab Emirates have huge untapped potential," says the CEO of Instituto Pet Brasil, Nelo Marraccini, adding that "other locations are interesting markets because of our traditional trade affinity. One thing is sure, Brazilian pet products have international quality and can gain market anywhere in the world."
Brazilian exports furthermore rebounded in 2019. According to Apex-Brasil – Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, R$ 295.1 million (FOB) was exported in 2019, up 13% compared to 2018. Pet food accounted for 83.79% of this amount, followed by live animals (7.96%); accessories (machinery, scale devices, tags, etc., at 6.16%); and pet care (1.83%).
To keep up this positive trend, Instituto Pet Brasil has organized webinars with specialists in these markets and the Business Intelligence representatives from the organization. Virtual talks are also being held in partnership with Apex-Brasil. Local executives register on a business qualification platform, gaining access to webinars and market studies. The Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, the India Brazil Chamber of Commerce and the PROCOLOMBIA agency are some of the organizations that took part in presentations during July.
Strong under bad weather
“Some segments of our market suffered a bit more from the pandemic. These include the service and animal sales areas; yet generally speaking, the sector saw growth in the early months of the year” says the IPB CEO Nelo Marraccini. This comparison considers the first three months of 2019 and of 2020. Because the industry and retail were considered essential to the economy, there was never any risk of lack of supply.
However, shopping dynamics changed. The biggest growth is in e-commerce sales, which saw revenues up by 65.57% as the result of social isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sales skyrocketed from R$ 1.49 billion to R$ 2.47 billion year-over-year for the first quarter. Veterinary products came in second, at 18% higher. Pet food is third, with growth of 10%. And rounding out the ranking are pet care (up by 6.9%) and veterinary services (5% higher).
