São Paulo – The Marketing & Content director of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), Silvana Gomes, called on representatives of Brazilian agribusiness to further explore the potential of the international market for halal products. The executive spoke to agricultural attaches and other professionals in the sector this Friday (24) during the 1st National Agro Meeting and 5th Meeting of Brazilian Agricultural Attachés in the federal capital.
Agricultural attachés work to open, maintain, and expand markets for Brazilian agribusiness. They work in embassies or diplomatic missions, coordinating with ambassadors and other diplomats to identify opportunities, challenges, and possibilities for trade, investment, and cooperation in the sector.
The ABCC is carrying out, with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), the Halal do Brasil Project, which aims to increase Brazil’s participation in the global halal market, especially with more value-added foods. Halal products are consumed in Arab countries and other Muslim nations and are also demanded in other parts of the world.
Gomes thanked the support the project already finds in ministries and agribusiness associations and said it counts on the collaboration of all attachés and institutions in the segment to bring companies to participate in Halal do Brasil. The project covers 50% of the cost of the first halal certification of interested companies. Gomes said that the support is still little known and called on those present to disseminate the opportunity.
The executive presented data showing the size of the halal market, valued at USD 1.26 trillion and made up of 2 billion Muslims – a quarter of the world’s population – and talked about how Muslim consumers are concerned about the origin and halal certification of products in their purchases and reported on some initiatives of the Halal do Brasil project, such as participation in the Mihas show in Malaysia this year.
Halal do Brasil aims to insert 500 national companies into the global halal market. It consists of several phases – training, in which companies that are not yet certified receive information and are made aware of halal; online segmented training for companies interested in receiving halal certification; and commercial promotion, with participation in shows and international missions. There is also support to obtain certification.
The 1st National Agro Meeting and the 5th Agricultural Attachés Meeting were held by ApexBrasil in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, bringing together heads of sector entities, authorities, and agricultural attachés. The president of ApexBrasil, Jorge Viana, participated in the event and spoke to the public. The event’s goal was to promote dialogue in the search for strategies to boost Brazilian agribusiness on the global stage. Representatives from various sectors participated in the lectures and debates. At the closing, the presence of the vice-president of Brazil and minister of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services, Geraldo Alckmin, was expected.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
