São Paulo – Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce president Rubens Hannun (pictured above on the right) and Jordan Customs CEO Abdul Majid Al Rahamnah (left on the picture) signed an agreement this Thursday (20) in Amman to implement online certification in exports from Brazil to Jordan. This is the first online certification agreement ever entered into by the Arab Chamber, and according to Hannun, the technology is already in existence and should be up and running within 60 days at most. “The advantage to this system is paperwork and cost reduction, including for end buyers. This will benefit businesses and consumers alike,” the president said.
Online certification entails the elimination of actual paperwork, which means processing will be made easier. Hannun said Egypt is about to enter into a significant agreement this year, but only for animal protein. Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Syria are expected to follow suit in 2019. The agreement with Jordan covers all types of goods sold from Brazil.
“It is important to note that the work of Jordan’s ambassador to Brazil, Malek Eid Otalla Twal, helped move these talks along,” Hannun remarked. The agreement was cleared by Jordan’s Ministry of Finance and by prime minister Omar Al-Razzaz. Also in attendance for the signature were the ambassador of Brazil to Jordan, Francisco Luz, and the adviser on special affairs to the Arab Chamber’s president, Tamer Mansour.
“The agreement on online certification of export documents from Brazil to Jordan is intended to cut down paperwork and lead time from 20 to just four days, and operating costs by 20% to 25%,” Mansour revealed.
The adviser also said a databank and statistics will be made available to Jordanian importers, who will get access to reports on the status of their documents. “Online certification will prevent forgery of any kind, as well as enable the customs to review the paperwork before the goods arrive. This will prevent errors and additional costs to exporters and importers alike when it comes to shipping containers, whose clearance will be made easier,” Mansour explained. “The future is online, this is the right direction,” Hannun concluded.
Last year saw USD 223.6 million worth of goods shipped from Brazil to Jordan, up 21.4% from 2016. Top-selling goods included poultry, beef, coffee, livestock and maize. Brazil imported USD 7.5 million in goods from Jordan, up 24.4%. Fertilizers and textiles made up the lion’s share of sales, as per Arab Chamber numbers.
Hannun and Mansour are travelling the Levant region this week. Before going to Jordan, they have been to Lebanon and Syria.
