Ji-Paraná – The state of Rondônia produces fish (tambaqui e pirarucu), Amazon Robusta specialty coffee, cocoa, açaí, and other products. For the lieutenant governor and secretary for Economy Development of Rondônia, Sérgio Gonçalves (pictured), these are the areas with the highest growth potential for exports.”
In an interview with ANBA, in the Rondônia Rural Show Internacional that runs till Saturday (27), the lieutenant governor said the state intends to create situations to showcase the quality of its products. “We’ve exported coffee, tambaqui, cocoa, and ore, and 80% of exports are soybeans, maize, beef, and pewter,” said Gonçalvez.
He said Rondônia is far from the major economic hubs, including the agricultural economic region of Brazil but there’s a wealth of opportunities to explore in the state. “Our coffee in Rondônia is award winning, our cocoa has won some awards, too, and we have opportunities in mining industry of rocks, gold, columbites, pewter, deposits of iron, and rare lands,” he said.
Gonçalves also talked about the green market and the carbon credit market in the state. “We want to present these projects for investors. An economic development model that conserves the forest and generates income. You can earn money with a standing forest, with ensured productivity in a smaller area,” he said. The lieutenant governor believes it’s possible to boost productivity while increasing quality and gave the example of the soybean.
The 4 Cachoeiras Colônia artisanal cheese manufactured on the border between Ariquemes and Cacaulândia, Rondônia, won the 2021 World Championship Cheese Contest held by Expoqueijo in Araxá, Minas Gerais. “[Rondônia’s cheese] are another gap of opportunity. We don’t have a mass scale but we make high-quality milk and dairy products, especially mozzarella, which we even sell to São Paulo. We want to increase production, and we need investments to do so,” he said.
Arab world
Gonçalves said he’s optimistic on the relation with the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) and said the state plans on moving forward and taking Rondônia’s products to the Arab countries. “We don’t just want investments but synergies, with educational and scientific interchange. We plan on participating in next year’s Gulfood in Dubai,” he said. Gulfood is the Middle East’s leading food and beverage trade show.
The lieutenant governor visited the ABCC earlier this year to talk with its leaders about joint actions, and the institution is present in the Rondônia Rural Show Internacional. The upcoming activities of the government of Rondônia together with the ABCC will be a dinner party with Arab ambassador in Brasília in June and the Rondônia Day event in São Paulo, whose date is still to be set.
The journalist traveled at the invitation of Rondônia’s Secretariat for Economic Development (SEDEC).
Read more on Rondônia:
- Patrícia Olve, the queen of pirarucu leather
- Ice cream brand features native ingredients of Rondônia
- Cacaulândia: Chocolate from Rondônia named after city
- Sustainability could connect Rondônia to Arab countries
- Ascenergy sells Brazil’s largest drone for agriculture
- Rondônia’s Amazon Robusta coffee more and more sustainable
- Rondônia Rural Show holds event to internationalize state
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
