São Paulo – Brazilian businessmen attending a meeting this Thursday (19th) with the Moroccan minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Saad Eddine El Othmani, have called on him to cut taxes on commercial transactions between the countries and to grant increased access to the Moroccan market. The meeting was held by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce at its headquarters in São Paulo.
This Thursday (19th) was the last day of Othmani’s two-day visit to Brazil, designed to enhance political, cultural and trade cooperation between the two countries. Last Wednesday (18th), he travelled to Brasília (the Brazilian federal capital), where he met with the Brazilian vice president, Michel Temer, and the minister of External Relations, Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado.
At the Arab Brazilian Chamber meeting this Thursday, businessmen made a plea to Othmani for increased access to the Moroccan market. “Brazil only ships 870 tonnes of poultry to Morocco each year, due to the 100%-plus tax. This is an unacceptable (tax), especially from the consumer’s perspective. Morocco’s output does not meet the needs of its population. Consumption in Morocco averages at 17 kg of poultry per person per year. I would like to make an appeal for a tariff revision, which will be beneficial to all parties involved,” said the chairman of the Brazilian Poultry Union (Ubabef), Francisco Turra. In a press statement, Ubabef has stated that in 2012, 888 tonnes of poultry were shipped from Brazil to Morocco.
The executive director of the Brazilian Meat Exporting Industries Association (Abiec), Fernando Sampaio, also made a plea to the Moroccan minister. He said that at present, Morocco does not import meat from Brazil, which is the world’s premier meat producing country. “We do sustain a sanitary agreement (with Morocco), but Brazilian industries are not accredited to export to Morocco. We call on the minister to extend our invitation to his country’s sanitary authorities to come to Brazil, so they will witness first-hand the quality of Brazilian (meat production) facilities, and then they may accredit Brazilian companies to export,” said Sampaio.
Sardine imports
The director of the canned tuna and sardine company Gomes da Costa, José Alberto Kacelmikn, said the company imports 15,000 tonnes of sardine per year from Morocco. However, the company pays an import tax it considers high. “We would like to negotiate a lower tax for Brazil, which imports 70,000 tonnes of sardine from Morocco each year. Some of that amount falls into a quota which enjoys a 2% import tax, but the remainder of it has 10% levied on it. It would be better to have an agreement that set forth a specific rate,” he said.
Othmani told the businessmen that he discussed the signing of trade agreements he attended with Brazilian government officials in the federal capital. “Many of these issues have been discussed in Brasília, as well as trade agreements and double taxation (i.e. two countries levying the same tax on the same product). In early 2014, a joint commission will be established to work towards several of the agreements suggested, provided that we reach a final conclusion on the matter,” he said.
The Moroccan minister also said it is possible for Brazil and Morocco to enter into new partnerships in sectors like agriculture, which the North African country deems a “priority,” and industry. “Both countries have aerospace and automotive industries, so we may focus our cooperation on those areas,” he said, as a case in point.
Tourism
Othmani also said he hopes tourist flows between the two countries will increase. To that end, the Moroccan tourism promotion agency will inaugurate an office in São Paulo this Friday
(20th), aiming to promote the Arab country as a destination for Brazilians. At this time, the minister said, Morocco receives 15,000 Brazilians per year.
“We are hoping to see 25,000 as early as December this year,” he said, referring to the fact that Royal Air Maroc will inaugurate direct São Paulo-Casablanca flights next December, and to the FIFA Club World Cup, which Morocco is hosting this year. Brazil’s Atlético Mineiro team will represent Brazil in the championship, and Morocco is expecting thousands of fans.
The meeting at the Arab Brazilian Chamber headquarters was also attended by the Arab Brazilian Chamber CEO, Michel Alaby, the Foreign Trade vice president, Rubens Hannun, the Brazilian ambassador to Morocco, Frederico Meyer, and the Moroccan ambassador to Brasília, Larbi Moukhariq.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
