Brazil exports three types of gold: bars, gold thread and gold bullion; raw gold; and semi-manufactured gold. In the first six months this year, the country posted US$ 654.7 million in revenues from exports of the product, of which US$ 346.6 million originated from the state of Minas Gerais.
The state of Minas Gerais answered to the bulk of exports. According to the director of Central Exporta Minas, Jorge Oliveira, foreign sales of gold from Minas are made by large mining companies.
In the state, the mineral is exported by companies AngloGold Ashanti, Mineração Serra Grande and Vale do Rio Doce. Minas Gerais exported 657 kilograms, out of a total of 1.3 ton, generating revenues of US$ 20.1 million.
The state of Minas Gerais is one of Brazil's most traditional producers of gold. The country, as a whole, produced 49.6 tons of gold last year. This year, according to sector projections, 54 tons of the ore should be produced in Brazilian territory.
The leading buyers of Minas's gold were the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the United States. The United Arab Emirates came in fourth place.
Last month Brazil exported more than one ton of gold bars to the United Arab Emirates. Gold sales generated revenues of US$ 41 million for Brazil and took place nearly three years after the country last exported the product to the Emirates, in 2006.
The figures were supplied by the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex) of the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.
The last sale of gold from Brazil to the Emirates, in 2006, totaled US$ 7 million and also came from the state of Minas Gerais. This year's sale, however, exceeded the last one by US$ 13 million.
According to the director of Central Exporta Minas, the type of gold exported by the state to the Emirates is mostly meant for industrial use or jewelry manufacturing. "At times of crisis, however, gold bars are always a safe investment," he says.
Besides Minas Gerais, the states of Goiás and Bahia have also exported gold to the United Arab Emirates in June.
Anba