Marina Sarruf*
marina.sarruf@anba.com.br
São Paulo – Four delegations from different Brazilian states are going to visit the United Arab Emirates this month. Two of them, one from Mato Grosso (MW) and the other from Tocantins (N) have China as their main destination, but on the way there they are going to stop in Dubai, a destination that is attracting a greater and greater number of Brazilian businessmen and authorities. The main objective is to prospect business in the emirate.
The mission from Mato Grosso, which scheduled to leave on Friday (11), is organized by the Federation of Industries of the State of Mato Grosso (Fiemt) and includes 63 businessmen in the sectors of metallurgy, civil construction, information technology and wood. Apart from the state of Mato Grosso, the companies also come from the states of Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Acre and Tocantins (all in the North). The companies are part of the Pro-Amazon Action Program, which includes the federations of industries of the states of the Amazon region.
"Since last year, every time we go to China, we visit Dubai. The idea is to prospect the market to take a delegation of businessmen in the construction sector to the Big 5 Show at the end of the year," stated the coordinator of the International Business Centre at Fiemt, Gabriela Fontes. According to her, 60% of the group heading to China on Friday is in the construction sector.
To present the potential of the Amazon region in Dubai, the delegation from the state of Mato Grosso is going to participate in a meeting at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where they should meet Arab businessmen. According to Gabriela, the Arab nations represent just 3% of Mato Grosso state exports, and one of the main products shipped is cattle beef. In the case of the Emirates, for example, the country is in the eighth position among the buyers of beef from Mato Grosso.
State exports to the Emirates last year generated US$ 20.17 million, against US$ 22.33 million in the previous year. The main items shipped were beef and chicken, cotton, diamonds and wood. According to Gabriela, in August, the state plans to bring businessmen from the Emirates to participate in roundtables during the Pro-Wood Fair. "We are greatly interested in exporting wood to Dubai," she said.
Investment
If, on the one hand, the delegation from Mato Grosso plans to sell, the mission from Tocantins plans to attract investment. A group of five people led by the state secretary of Industry and Trade, Eudoro Pedroza, should leave to Dubai on Sunday, where they should also present the potential of the state at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and then head to China.
"We are promoting a prospecting visit. We want to show the investment opportunities in Tocantins and to invite a delegation from the Emirates to come here, so that they may learn about the potential of the state," stated the secretary. According to him, the state has plans to build an industrial airport and a warehouse in Manaus Free Zone, to make possible the transport of produce for export through the Tocantins River waterway.
One of the enterprises in the Emirates that may serve as a model for these projects is Jebel Ali International Airport, currently in construction. The constructions should be visited by the delegation from the state, which also includes the director of Attraction and Fostering of the Secretariat of Industry and Trade, Iapurê Olsen, and the fiscal auditor of the Secretary of Finance, Donizeth Aparecido Silva, as well as two businessmen in the sector of food and vehicles.
In the trade area, the state of Tocantins is also interested in the Emirates. Last year, exports from the state to the Arab country generated US$ 646,340, being beef the main product shipped. According to Pedroza, the largest Brazilian slaughterhouses are establishing plants in Tocantins. "We have 8 million heads of cattle, and with the arrival of these slaughterhouses we can expand our exports. Dubai is certainly a centre to which we want to expand our sales, not just of beef, but also of chicken," he added.
Another state government to promote a delegation to Dubai seeking investment is Bahia. An official delegation headed by state governor Jaques Wagner is going to leave on the 24th. The idea is to present the plans for construction of a new maritime terminal that the state plans to build.
The fourth Brazilian delegation heading to the Arab country is from the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The group is headed for the Hannover Fair, in Germany, but government representatives are going to stop in Dubai to prospect business there. One of the authorities to be present is the Secretary of Environment, Otaviano Moraes.
*Translated by Mark Ament
