Omar Nasser, from Fiep*
Curitiba – The participation of cooperatives from the southern Brazilian state of Paraná in Brazilian cooperative exports to the countries in the League of Arab States is significant. In the first quarter of this year, Brazilian cooperatives exported US$ 63 million to the Middle East and North Africa. Paraná answered to 40% of this total. The state sold, between January and March of 2007, the equivalent to US$ 25 million to the Arabs. And the profile of the trade basket is similar to that of the country as a whole. The main products sold were whole chicken and chicken in parts, maize, products in the soy complex (grain, oil and chaff) and sugar.
Prominent in the state, between 2001 and 2006 cooperatives from the state of Paraná increased their investment in industrialization of agricultural production by 163%. In the period, the value invested in new juice factories, poultry slaughterhouses, grinding facilities, alcohol and sugar mills, among other projects, rose from R$ 300 million (US$ 148 million at current exchange rates for comparison purposes) to R$ 790 million (US$ 388 million). And the sector has been responsible for a substantial part of the production shipped to the Arab countries. "It is a market that has excellent conditions to prosper," explained Robson Mafioletti, economic spokesperson for the Union and Organization of Cooperatives of the State of Paraná (Ocepar).
Agricultural cooperatives are among the most vigorous forces for development of the industry in the state. In the last six years, accumulated investment in the sector of transformation of agricultural and animal inputs totalled R$ 3.3 billion (US$ 1.6 billion). "Industries connected to cooperatives are new, having been installed with modern technology. Brazil is very competitive in agribusiness and the cooperative sector from the state of Paraná manages, this way, to have a price and quality differential on the national and international markets," explained Flávio Turra, technical and economic manager at Ocepar.
The attention to industrialization is part of an ample restructuring of the sector. Apart from adopting new managerial tools, from implementing innovative productive processes and the creation of new products, the prospecting of new markets outside the country is also part of the package of changes. "In this restructuring process, in which we seek expansion of markets globally, the Arabs are seen with great interest, not only for being in a strategic region, but also for presenting considerable business perspectives," stated Mafioletti.
The countries of the Middle East and North Africa receive a large flow of funds due to oil exports. For this reason, it is considered that, in general, they have great buying power. "They have many dollars," explains the economist. To this may be added the fact that the cooperatives have a greatly appreciated characteristic in the business environment: "They have a great ethical and social profile," explained Mafioletti. This makes it possible for them to see opportunities even in countries that are in turmoil, like Iraq.
Cooperatives for support
The cooperatives in the state of Paraná were mostly established in the 1960s and 1970s. The objective was to support the agricultural sector mainly through the supply of inputs and also the receipt, packing, cleaning, storage and trade of produce. In the 1980s, due to pressures by the associates themselves, they started investing in industrialization.
"The producers noticed that commodities do not add value," explained Turra. Investment in the industrial sector gained strength in the 1990s and, nowadays, production and trade of industrialized goods answers to 37% of the revenues of agricultural cooperatives from the state of Paraná.
*Federation of Industries of the State of Paraná. Translated by Mark Ament
