São Paulo – The director-general of the Ministry of Agriculture of Lebanon, Louis Lahoud, is on an official trip to São Paulo and visited the headquarters of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) with the consul general of Lebanon to São Paulo, Rudy El Azzi, this Thursday (30). They met with ABCC president Osmar Chohfi, secretary-general Tamer Mansour, International Relations vice president Mohamad Mourad, and board director Mohammed Adbouni. Institutional Relations director Fernanda Baltazar and Dubai international office head Rafael Solimeo also participated.
Baltazar gave a brief presentation on the ABCC’s activities and the trade overview between Brazil and Lebanon. The main Brazilian products exported to Lebanon are beef, sugar, coffee, and maize. On the other hand, the primary products Lebanon sells to Brazil are fertilizers, petrochemicals, fruits, olive oil, and wines.
Chohfi stated with the search for diversification in fertilizer imports, Arab countries are already increasing exports, and Lebanon has an opportunity to increase sales to the country.
Lahoud said Brazil is a significant country for Lebanon, providing food security and having a substantial Lebanese community. He recalled roadshows with Lebanese products were held in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in 2019 and suggested a trade mission with Brazilian entrepreneurs to Lebanon could be scheduled, as well as a Lebanese mission to Brazil, later this year or early 2023.
The director also suggested an annual Brazil-Lebanon economic forum could be created to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the countries, with editions shared between São Paulo and Beirut.
“I prefer not to wait for the Mercosur-Lebanon free trade agreement to come out because we urgently need to secure the expansion of trade,” said Lahoud. The director informed the primary products Lebanon seeks to sell are wine, honey, olive oil, and processed regional foods.
Consul Rudy El Azzi stated the trade balance between Brazil and Lebanon is returning to 2018 levels and thanked the ABCC for the substantial efforts it has made over the last three years to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.
The director-general’s schedule in Brazil will also include meeting with the secretary of Agriculture of the state of São Paulo, Francisco Matturro. Lahoud will also participate in the Economic Forum Brazil & Arab Countries next Monday (4).
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
