Cairo – Brazil is seeking to establish a strategic partnership with Egypt to strengthen the trade between the two countries, as well as benefiting from the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the Arab country. So said Brazil’s special secretary for Strategic Affairs, Flávio Rocha, in a seminar held by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) on Sunday (22) in Cairo, as part of the Brazilian official mission to Egypt.
According to Rocha, Brazil is seeking to develop economic ties that re not limited to the intra-regional trade but include mutual production, which could benefit both countries. He stressed that there are cooperation opportunities with the Egyptians in food security, as Brazil grows foods that require fertilizers, which Egypt produces in huge amounts.
The secretary said that Brazil seeks to increase the trade with the Arab countries to USD 40 billion. The Brazil-Arab trade reached USD 24 billion in 2021. Rocha explained that his visit to Egypt is part of a tour that includes nine Arab countries, namely Morocco, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.
Patriota: Full fee waiver
The ambassador of Brazil to Egypt, Antonio Patriota, participated in the event and announced that most of the bilateral trade fees between Brazil and Egypt will be waived by 2026 as part of the Mercosur-Egypt free trade agreement that came into force in September 2017. The ambassador said that Brazil wants to strengthen the relations with the Arab countries in general and Egypt in particular as both countries are complementary, Egypt as a food importer and Brazil as a fertilizer importer. Fertilizers account for over half of Egypt’s exports to Brazil..
Hanafy: Egypt, a partner for Brazil
Union of Arab Chambers secretary-general Khaled Hanafy said at the seminar that Egypt and Brazil saw a volume of trade of almost USD 2.6 billion in 2021. According to Hanafy, Egypt was Brazil’s third largest Arab trade partner but became the leading Arab destination of Brazilian exports this year. The secretary-general mentioned how Brazil is willing to be the gateway of Egyptian exports to South America.
Chohfi: There are opportunities
Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce president Osmar Chohfi said that, despite the remarkable growth in Egypt-Brazil trade in recent years, there are many untapped opportunities that could contribute to further the volume of trade and the integration between the countries in the following years.
Chohfi pointed out the discussions that have taken place recently in the ABCC office in Egypt about the increase of sales of fertilizers from Egypt to Brazil. There have also been talks about boosting the meat exports from Brazil to Egypt. They occurred during the mission of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply to the Arab country earlier this month.
Translated by Ahmed El Nagari and Guilherme Miranda
