Brazil's trade with Middle East and North African countries increased 28.6 percent in 2011 to reach 25.13 billion U.S. dollars, the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (CCAB) said on Tuesday.

Exports to those countries rose 20.3 percent last year, reaching 15.13 billion dollars, while imports registered an even sharper increase, 43.3 percent, and reached 9.98 billion dollars.

"We are running a surplus in trade with the Arabs," said CCAB President Salim Taufic Schahin during a press conference.

Schahin highlighted that Brazil's share in Arab imports jumped from 1.7 to 2.3 percent in three years, and attributed the increase to the "Brazilian government"s strong efforts to boost relations with the Arab world".

CCAB expects Brazil's trade with Middle East and North African countries to rise 10 to 15 percent this year. The lower growth rate was attributed to the European crisis, which must be taken into consideration and regarded very carefully, Schahin said.

According to CCAB's CEO Michel Alaby, there is a lot of potential for Brazilian exports to grow, as the Arab world imports a large amount of food, and Brazil is a major food products exporter.

"There is plenty of room for increase in terms of foodstuffs, such as sweets, chocolates, preserves, jams and others," he said.