Dubai – More Brazilian companies can potentially set up operations at the Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), in Dubai. This Wednesday (19th), Jafza’s vice president for the United Arab Emirates and Europe, Tariq Saqer Bin Ghalaita, has said there are 15 Brazilian enterprises operating at the facility, but noted that more Brazilian exporting companies could use Jafza as a platform to sell their products to the region.
“We do have Brazilian companies with us and we could have more by taking action to encourage their presence in our region. In addition to the food industry, in which Brazil has already secured a foothold, cosmetics companies could work from out of Jafza. Some Brazilian companies, like JBS and BRF (both meat companies) have worked with us in the past, and now they have their own offices in Dubai," said Ghalaita.
Brazilian companies currently operating from Jafza include incubators, the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), the bus body manufacturer Marcopolo and auto parts company Fras-le, and others. The executive said some of the avenues to increasing the presence of Brazilian companies are via marketing and investment promotion.
Jafza comprises over 7,500 companies, including multinationals, medium and small businesses. Jafza offers benefits such as tax exemption and does not require businesses to have a local partner, unlike Dubai.
Furthermore, companies operating at the free zone are allowed to import raw materials from their own countries, process them at Jafza and then ship the product to other destinations via the Jebel Ali Port, which is widely used as a distribution centre to other countries in the Middle East and Asia. Out of the total inbound container throughput at the Jebel Ali Port, 55% are destined for companies operating at the free zone.
Ghalaita welcomed this ANBA reporter during a meeting attended by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce’s president, Marcelo Sallum, and CEO, Michel Alaby, and by Jafza’s vice president of Commercial Sales, Mohammed Al Banna, senior vice president for Sales, Adil Al Zarooni, Business and Sales executive for Latin America, Zilda Rosa, and senior manager of Sales to the Americas, Ahmad Bin Harib. The meeting was held at Jafza’s stand in the Big 5 construction industry fair, currently taking place in Dubai.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
