São Paulo – The state of Bahia wants to increase its business with the Middle East and Africa. To this end, the Federation of Industries of the State of Bahia (Fieb), via its International Business Centre (CIN), intends to encourage the participation of local companies in the trade mission that the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade will promote to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in February.
“The state of Bahia is definitely greatly interest in developing its participation in those markets,” said the CIN manager, Patrícia Orrico, this Tuesday (13th). Last Monday in the state capital Salvador, the Fieb hosted a seminar entitled ‘Focus Market: Africa and Middle East,’ featuring the Brazilian Export Promotion Agency (Apex) and the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
Patrícia stated that some companies from Bahia already export to those regions, but the markets offer further opportunities, “including ones for small businesses with higher value-added products.” The audience at the seminar was mostly comprised of representatives of small and medium companies.
Among the most promising industries, she mentioned fashion, gems and jewellery, shoes, food, beverages, especially fruit-based ones, ornamental stones and cosmetics.
The state of Bahia wishes to attract foreign investment as well, according to the Development and International Relations director at the Superintendence for Economic Development of the State’s Secretariat for Industry, Trade and Mining, Ricardo Vieira, who attended the seminar.
As an example of an area to be explored, he mentioned mining, because several beds of different minerals have been found in the state recently and will be auctioned. Among the items discovered, Vieira mentioned iron ore, manganese, lithium, precious stones and uranium. The government of Bahia, however, want to attract not only companies interested in extracting the products, but also in processing them.
Another segment to be highlighted, according to him, is infrastructure, mostly through public-private partnerships (PPPs). Vieira said the state government intends to strengthen its contacts with chambers of commerce, embassies and organizations in foreign countries to organize promotion actions.
The presentations at the seminar were given by the Arab Brazilian Chamber CEO, Michel Alaby, and the Apex Commercial Intelligence analyst, Ulisses Pimenta. The former discussed how to negotiate with Arab countries, and the latter spoke on the potential of the two markets.
Bahia is the ninth leading exporting state in Brazil, according to the Ministry of Development. The main products sold include fuels, wood pulp, petrochemicals, grain, copper wire, cotton, vehicles and auto parts, precious stones and metals, soy chaff, tyres and rubber, cocoa, plastics, coffee and fruit.
The state is a major importer of oil and derivatives, especially naphtha, vehicles and parts, ores, especially copper, capital goods, electrical material, fertilizers, rubber, chemicals and others.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
