São Paulo – Egyptian exports to the Brazilian market have more than tripled since the free trade agreement between Egypt and Mercosur came into effect at the end of 2017. They were at USD 155.4 million that year and rose to USD 488.9 million last year, according to a presentation made by the regional director and head of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) Office in Egypt, Micheal Gamal Kaddes.
Gamal spoke at the Forum on Development and Access of Egyptian Exports to Global Markets, held by the Cairo Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Arab Union of Customs Brokers and the ABCC in Cairo last week. According to Gamal, Egyptian exports to Brazil have diversified, moving away from just fertilizers to include agricultural and manufactured products, and Brazilian exports to Egypt have also progressed in the same direction.
The ABCC’s regional director highlighted that some Egyptian companies have already been able to take advantage of the competitive benefits opened up by the agreement, such as the sale of frozen strawberries and oranges. According to him, Brazil consumes Egyptian cotton, and there is a growing demand in the Brazilian market for olives, olive oils, and dates, which Egypt produces.
Brazil is the future of Egypt’s exports
Gamal sees the Brazilian market as the future of Egyptian exports, given that Brazil is the eighth-largest economy in the world and the third most agricultural country globally, with a population of over 200 million people and a vast territorial area of more than 8 million square kilometers. Providing an overview of the ABCC’s work, he listed language barriers and distances between different regions as challenges for selling to Brazil but emphasized that Brazilian importers are friendly and welcome the opening of trade relations with various countries around the world.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
