São Paulo – Egypt’s ambassador in Brasília, Alaa Eldin Wagih Mohamed Roushdy, and Brazil’s minister of Agriculture, Blairo Maggi, discussed the expansion of trade of agriculture products between the two countries and the balance of trade. Brazil has a large surplus in the trade balance with Egypt. In the meeting, held this Monday (20) at the ministry, the diplomat and the minister also talked about the possibility of an Egyptian delegation coming to Brazil to meet with livestock farmers that could export cattle to the Arab country.
The ambassador told ANBA this Wednesday (22) that the meeting was “excellent” and productive. “We talked about trade between both countries, which surpasses USD 2 billion per year, and how we could improve this cooperation and expand trade, since the majority of the products traded is agricultural”, he said.
“We also talked about the balance of trade, which currently favors Brazil. Egypt is a producer of fertilizers and Brazil is a large importer of the product. We already export a small amount to Brazil, but it’s possible to sell more. Besides, we believe that trade could increase with the ratification by Argentina of the free-trade agreement between Egypt and Mercosur”, pointed out the diplomat.
The agreement was signed in 2010 and calls for tariffs equal to zero for the import and export of products between Egypt and the member countries of the customs union: Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Venezuela entered Mercosur after negotiations with Egypt.
Data from the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services (MDIC) show that in 2015 Brazil exported USD 2.05 billion to Egypt. The main product exported to the North African country was beef, with sales amounting to USD 624 million. Egypt, in turn, exported the amount of USD 108.1 million to the Brazilian market, mainly fertilizers, with sales that amounted to USD 42.5 million.
Visit
According to the Egyptian ambassador, a delegation of technicians from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Arab country will visit meat processing companies and livestock farmers. Egypt announced this year that it will resume imports of cattle from Brazil. The purchases were suspended in 2014 due to differences between the health systems of both countries. Live cattle are imported by Egyptian companies that want to perform the slaughtering locally to meet specific demand from its clients. Roushdy said, however, that the date and details of the visit are yet to be defined.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
