São Paulo – Mauritania should implement an integrated sugar and alcohol project covering from cultivation of sugarcane to delivery of the final product. For such, the country’s government is seeking companies in the sector in Brazil that may be interested in building and operating the enterprise. This is one of the main objectives of the visit that the Mauritanian minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Hamadi Ould Hamadi, made to São Paulo and Brasília this week.
On Tuesday (18), Hamadi was at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, in the city of São Paulo, to discuss the trade and investment opportunities in his country. “The Chamber represents a gateway into the business sector [in Brazil],” he said to ANBA. At the organisation, the Foreign Minister spoke to vice presidents Rubens Hannun (Marketing) and Wladimir Freua (Foreign Trade) and to COO Andréa Monteiro Uhlmann.
According to Dy Zein, the director general of the state-owned Societé Sucre de Mauritanie, which is responsible for the project, the first phase of the enterprise involves an area of 10,000 hectares for cultivation and construction of a mill with a capacity for production of 106,000 tonnes of refined sugar and 10 million litres of ethanol a year, as well as generation of 37 megawatts of electricity. Zein is part of Hamadi’s delegation.
The government of Mauritania aims to hire a company responsible for the entire project, including engineering services, construction and operation of the mill. According to him, it is important for the company to be capable of raising financing for the works, including the export of material and agricultural implements.
The total cost of the project is US$ 360 million, according to the executive, with the mill alone budgeted at between US$ 120 million and US$ 150 million. The construction span is estimated at 24 months. “Brazil has prominent position in the area, so we are interested [in seeking partners in the country]”, said the executive.
Zein added that the company that builds the first phase of the project will also have preference in the implementation of the second part, which involves an area of 12,000 hectares. He also stated that the government of Mauritania may offer guarantees for the loans and incentives to the company responsible.
Although Mauritania does not yet have commercial scale production in the sector, Zein and the minister inform that cultivation tests took place and showed good productivity of sugarcane, of up to 106 tonnes per hectare. To give an idea, the average productivity per hectare in the Centre-South region of Brazil is currently around 74 tonnes per hectare. The areas turned to the culture in the African country are irrigated. The delegation should visit companies and organisations in the sector, in São Paulo, up to Wednesday (19). The ambassador of Mauritania to Brasília, Kaba Mohamed Alioua, is accompanying the mission.
Hamadi pointed out, however, that there are other areas to be explored in Mauritania. “It is a virgin country, new, and with great opportunities,” he said. Among the sectors with business potential he mentioned mining and fishery. The nation is rich in mineral resources and, according to the ministry, there are currently 1,200 exploration licenses. Brazilian technicians in the area have already been to the country, said the Foreign Minister.
In the fishing sector, Hamadi informs that production of Mauritania reaches 1 million tonnes a year. "They are good quality products, appreciated by the international market,” he said. He added that Mauritanian fishery is also appreciated in Brazil, but that local consumers do not know, as the products are exported to the country through European enterprises.
“We have our doors open to Brazilian companies [interested in exploring the sector],” he pointed out. Both countries signed an agreement for cooperation in fishing and aquiculture during the visit of the Brazilian Foreign Minister, Antonio Patriota, to the African nation, in April.
Hamadi pointed out that Brazil and Mauritania have already started cooperation in the area of defence and security, including with the sale of Super Tucano military aircraft made by Embraer, to the Mauritanian Air Force. The first units were delivered in October. The Foreign Minister stated that the minister of Defence of his country is also visiting Brazil and that the Mauritanian airline is studying the acquisition of Brazilian commercial aircraft.
On Monday, Hamadi met with Patriota in Brasília and signed an agreement for political consultation. According to him, the exchange of visits is the “expression of the desire of both countries to strengthen political and economic ties.”
Exports from Brazil to Mauritania generated US$ 167.84 million from January to November, growth of 33% over the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. The main items shipped were sugar, wheat, poultry, train parts and tyres.
*Translated by Mark Ament
