Foz do Iguaçu – Morocco is interested in producing fertilizers in Brazil. The Arab country inaugurated, last week, an office of the Office Chérifien dês Phosphates (OCP), a Moroccan phosphate company, in São Paulo. The objective is to establish relations with Petrobras and Vale for the local production of fertilizers, the main product imported by Brazil from Morocco.
The information was disclosed by the secretary general at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Michel Alaby, who participated in the meeting between the Moroccan minister of foreign trade, Abdellatif Maâzouz, and the minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade of Brazil, Miguel Jorge, on Thursday (16), during the 40th Summit of Heads of State of the Mercosur and Associated States, to end on Friday (17), in Foz do Iguaçu, in the state of Paraná.
The Arab country participated yesterday (15) in the signing of the Final Protocol of the São Paulo Rounds of the Global System of Trade Preferences Among Developing Countries (GSTP), which includes 11 nations and determines the 20% reduction of tariffs levied on 70% of the products traded between the signatories.
The Moroccan minister of Foreign Trade, Abdellatif Maâzouz, hopes that the agreement may bring "greater competitiveness" to trade between his country and the Mercosur, and used his main export product as an example.
"We are currently exporting much in terms of fertilizers to India, Brazil and Argentina, so our fertilizers will be more competitive in these countries, and it will be cheaper for farmers to buy the product, making agricultural products cheaper for consumers," said Maâzouz in an interview to ANBA. Apart from the three countries mentioned by the minister, other signatories of the agreement are Paraguay and Uruguay (members of the Mercosur), Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea. Other countries may become members of the GSTP in future.
On the other hand, Maâzouz hopes that products imported by Morocco from Brazil, like cars, auto parts and equipment, for example, may become "20% cheaper in Morocco".
In the meeting with Jorge, Maâzouz also covered matters like the signing of a free trade agreement between the Mercosur and Morocco. The Moroccan minister stated that negotiations are very slow and that he would like them to progress. Welber Barral, the Brazilian Foreign Trade secretary, answered that the lists of offer and demand between both parties have not yet been completed.
At the meeting, the Moroccan minister also spoke about the freight surcharge, which requires a 25% increase in the value of freight on products imported into Brazil from countries that are not members of the Mercosur. Maâzouz said that, in case a free trade agreement is signed with the bloc, he would call for the cancellation of said fee. Minister Jorge agreed that such an act would further help cheapen the cost of fertilizers for Brazilian farmers and recalled that the cancellation of this fee is already forecasted in agreements between the members of the Latin-American Integration Association.
*Translated by Mark Ament
