Geovana Pagel, special envoy*
geovana.pagel@anba.com.br
Rio de Janeiro – The president at the Brazilian Beef Industry and Exporters Association (Abiec) and former minister of Agriculture of Brazil, Marcus Vinícius Pratini de Moraes, said on Friday (23), during the 27th National Foreign Trade Meeting (Enaex), that Brazilian businessmen must also be competitive on the foreign market. "Assets abroad are very cheap. It is necessary to look at the other side of the currency. Now the market is favourable for investment in production of Brazilian products abroad," he said. Pratini was one of the speakers at the meeting that took place at Hotel Glória, in Rio de Janeiro.
One of the examples mentioned by the former minister was Sadia, which is investing heavily in construction of factories abroad. In 2008 Sadia is going to inaugurate a factory in Russia and to start the construction of a factory in the in the United Arab Emirates. In Russia the company invested 92 million Brazilian reais (US$ 53 million) in construction in partnership with a local company, Miratorg. In the Emirates, investment should total 100 million reais (US$ 57 million), but the site for the plant has not yet been defined.
Pratini also defended the access to new markets. "The world has changed and we no longer depend on what is happening in the United States and Europe. The opportunities are in other consumer markets, like the Middle East and North Africa," he said. These markets, according to the former minister, are becoming more and more important as destinations for Brazilian exports of beef.
"Sales to the region are going very well. Egypt is currently the second main individual destination for Brazilian beef exports," he recalled. "Exports should continue growing as we are always in contact with the Federation of Muslim Associations of Brazil and promoting actions to consolidate cattle beef in the Arab market," he said.
According to Pratini, for 2008 the organisation of three barbecues promoting not only Brazilian beef but also the Brazilian image have already been scheduled. "The first will be in Dubai, in February or March, the second in Saudi Arabia and the third in Egypt," he explained.
Pratini also pointed out that the time of dairy products has come, as there is a dearth of dairy products around the world. "We are going to face some sanitary barriers, but we can surely overcome them and establish ourselves as great exporters of dairy products in coming years," he guaranteed.
According to the president at the Brazilian Foreign Trade Association (AEB), Benedicto Fonseca Moreira, the 27th Enaex, once again marked "the moment for the sector to discuss solutions to make Brazil highly competitive on the global scenery, leaving the condition of FOB and being bought to becoming a true seller and, finally, changing from reactive to proactive," he said. "Despite the absence of the President of the Republic and of ministers, who are always present at the event, the result was positive and we are going to continue pleading for a more efficient system to make the country competitive in all sectors," he finished off.
Institutional stand
The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce was present once again with an institutional stand at the Enaex. "It is very important for the Chamber to participate in a foreign trade event like this one. We always make contact with many people interested in learning about and trading with the Arab world," stated the marketing vice president at the Chamber, Rubens Hannun.
*Translated by Mark Ament
