Isaura Daniel*
São Paulo – Morocco is one of the markets to which Brazil plans on selling more beef. The Arab nation, located in North Africa, is part of the list of countries where the Brazilian Beef Industry and Exporters Association (Abiec) and the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex) are going to promote Brazilian bovine meat. An agreement signed yesterday (17) between Abiec and Apex, in São Paulo, foresees investments of US$ 3.5 million in promoting the product abroad up to May 2008.
"Morocco has a very interesting market of meats. As well as the population, who eats a lot of lamb and chicken and is increasing their consumption of beef, there are the restaurants and hotels that offer beef to the tourists," says the president of Abiec, Marcus Vinícius Pratini de Moraes. Brazil sells pretty small volume of beef to Morocco. In June, 4,000 kilos of processed beef were exported, according to information from Abiec.
The Apex and Abiec project is focused also on promoting beef exports in other new markets: China, Indonesia and Malaysia, in Asia, and South Africa. "These markets are growing. The emerging countries are increasing a lot their beef consumption," stated Pratini. Also countries that make regular purchases of beef from Brazil, in the European Union, Eastern Europe, Middle East and South America, will be targets in the promotion. Amongst them are the Arabs Algeria and Lebanon.
In Algeria there has been, this year already, a workshop on Brazilian beef followed by a barbecue for entrepreneurs. The same should be done in Lebanon and Morocco up to 2008. "The Arab markets are very important for us," stated the president of Apex, Juan Quirós. Algeria is the second country in the ranking of Arab importers of Brazilian beef. The country purchased 27,000 tonnes of the product in June. Lebanon bought 1,900 tonnes and is the fifth in the list amongst the Arabs.
The aim of the project is to increase exports of bovine meat from Brazil to US$ 3.8 billion up to the end of 2008, especially with the sales of beef of higher added value. Last year, exports in the sector reached US$ 3.1 billion. This year, in spite of the embargoes the country suffered due to surges of the foot and mouth disease registered in the states of Mato Grosso do Sul, in the Midwest, and Paraná, in the South of Brazil, the forecast is for an increase in sales by 5%.
Promotion
The actions by Apex and Abiec to promote exports will be the participation in eight international fairs in the sector, eight workshops and four image projects, which are invitations to journalists from other countries to come to Brazil to see the beef sector, from cattle breeding, to industrialisation of the meats and the port sector.
Normally in the workshops local importers sit for technical lectures on Brazilian beef, are invited to a barbecue and participate in business roundtables with Brazilians. Both in the fairs as in the workshops, the way Brazil breeds its cattle is highlighted: grazing in the fields.
Apex and Abiec have already signed another two previous agreements through which similar actions were held. In the partnership that lasted from April 2004 to December 2005 there were US$ 1.9 million in promotional actions for Brazilian beef abroad.
*Translated by Silvia Lindsey
