São Paulo – The United Arab Emirates may be a path for reaching a market of 1.1 billion consumers. This population does not exist in the Arab country, but rather in India, a nation that shares the Arabian Sea coast with the Emirates, one of India’s leading suppliers. The Emirates does not only export to the Indian market, it also re-exports products from other parts of the world. Last year, the Gulf country shipped the equivalent of 32.8 billion dirhams(US$ 8.9 billion) in re-exported goods to the Indians. The figures were compiled by the Market Development Department of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
Last year, there was growth of 51% in re-exports from the United Arab Emirates to India compared with the previous year, when the figure was 21.6 billion dihrans (US$ 5.9 billion). The main re-export product was precious metals. Revenues from exports of these metals totalled 31.2 billion dirhams (US$ 8.5 billion). The secretary general of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Michel Alaby, claims that Brazil may tap into sectors in which the United Arab Emirates already are strong suppliers to India, such as precious stones, in order to place its products.
Apart from precious metals, other products that the United Arab Emirates re-exports to India include metals and their products, vegetables, electric and electronic machinery and equipment, textiles, chemicals, plastics, minerals, prepared foods, live animals, stones, cement, ceramics, glass products, vehicles and transport equipment, wood pulp, cork and paper, furniture, toys and sports items, footwear, headgear, umbrellas, flowers, optical, medical and measuring instruments, watches, wood, hay, basketware, vegetable and animal oils and artwork.
The secretary general of the Arab Brazilian Chamber underscores that Dubai has been a re-export centre for a long time now. The emirate already boasts a whole logistical and financial structure for supporting exports. Thus, according to him, it may represent an alternative for reaching other countries as well. Aside from India, Dubai supplies other markets in the area, such as Iran, Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Uzbekistan. “The countries of the former Soviet Republic sustain relations with Dubai,” says Alaby.
Brazil has some advantages when it comes to exporting to India, as the Mercosur has a tariff preference agreement with the Asian country. The treaty warrants benefits for 500 items, but not agricultural ones, which are among the leading Brazilian export products. In fact, total exports from Brazil to the Indian market totalled US$ 1.1 billion last year, one eighth of what the Emirates re-export to India. The re-exports figure is also close to Brazilian sales to all of the countries in the League of Arab States: US$ 9.8 billion last year.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
