São Paulo – The Moroccan Exports Promotion Center (Maroc Export) held this Wednesday (2nd) in São Paulo the Morocco – Brazil Business Forum, designed to bring together delegates from Moroccan sectorial organization and Brazilian companies. Participants in the event, organized by Maroc Export and the France-Brazil Chamber of Commerce (CCFB), discussed avenues for increasing business between the two countries.
According to Maroc Export’s secretary general Zouhair Triqui, this is the organization’s first action in Brazil and its purpose is to broaden trade relations. “This is our first mission in Brazil, comprising public and private organizations, in a bid to find the right people in Brazil and work on business and partnerships,” he said.
Numbers from the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade compiled by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce show Brazil as the third leading recipient of Moroccan exports, trailing Spain and France. However, Brazil only ranks 19th among the leading suppliers of the North African country.
In 2014, Brazil-Morocco bilateral trade reached USD 1.8 billion. Brazil shipped out USD 568 million worth of goods and imported USD 1.249 billion. Morocco imported mostly sugar, aircraft, soybeans and soy seeds from Brazil. Morocco exported primarily fertilizer and fuel.
Triqui believes trade between the countries falls far short of its potential. “What we have today (in terms of trade) does not reflect the true potential of Brazil-Morocco relations. We want trade to increase and for a broader range of products to be traded. We hope other meetings will happen as a result of this visit to Brazil,” he stated.
At the event, Arab Chamber CEO Michel Alaby gave information regarding trade between the two countries. He also named areas where business opportunities are available, especially foodstuffs. According to Alaby, Moroccan companies could see positive results from attending trade shows, including Apas, slated for the first half of 2016 in São Paulo and attended by leading supermarket industry companies.
The executive director of CCFB, Sueli Lartigue, remarked that Brazil is experiencing an economic crisis in 2015 and is unlikely to see any growth in 2016. She said that nonetheless, opportunity arises in times of crisis. “Companies must seize the chances as they come up.”
The event was attended by the Moroccan Pharmaceutical Industry Association, the Association of Audiovisual Companies, the Moroccan Exporters Association and the Federation of Moroccan Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Services, among other organizations. Also attending were delegates from banking and pharmaceutical companies, among others. In addition to the seminar held in the morning, business matchmaking sessions were scheduled to take place in the afternoon.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
