São Paulo – Sudan needs know-how in the areas of agricultural mechanisation and production of fertilizers and, to have access to this knowledge, wants to attract the interest of foreign companies. This was one of the themes of the meeting that the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce secretary general, Michel Alaby, and representatives of the Brazilian Foreign Office (Itamaraty) had yesterday (2) at the Ministry of Investment of the country.
“Agriculture is their main priority, due to food safety,” said Alaby. He spoke to deputy minister Awadelkarim Ballah El Tayyeb, to the deputy manager of Projects and Research at the Ministry, Mohammed El Mahi El Hadi, and to a representative of the agricultural commission at the Ministry, Abdel Dafi Ali.
The government of Sudan plans to boost partnerships between local and foreign investors in the field of agribusiness and are prepared to offer the use of land for periods ranging from 30 and 50 to 99 years, depending on the enterprise. According to Alaby, the country promises to analyse project viability studies in up to 30 days.
Sudan has great areas of fertile land available and a herd of 130 million heads of cattle, goats, sheep and camels. There are, however, supply problems.
According to Alaby, there is, for example, a chronic deficit of 2 million to 3 million tonnes of sugar per year. Apart from Sugar, Sudan wants to make more products like maize, soy and wheat.
That is, apart from expanding production, the country needs to improve its product distribution structure, to expand the number of warehouses, slaughterhouses and silos and to develop the entire transport infrastructure.
The government wants to attract foreign investment to these areas and, according to Alaby, the legislation of Sudan guarantees the same treatment to local and international capital. There is special interest in engineering and construction companies.
During the meetings, representatives of the government of Sudan also spoke about opportunities in the oil, gas and mining sectors, considering different ores. The meeting also included the head of the Fair and Tourism division at the Itamaraty, Flávio Marcílio Sapha, and secretary Pedro Yacoubian, of the Brazilian embassy to Khartoum.
Fair
Yesterday was the second day of Khartoum International Fair, which includes a stand organized by the Arab Brazilian Chamber and the embassy, and includes three exhibitors: Grendene, of shoes, JBS, of beef, and Fiasini, of furniture.
Alaby explained that at the fair he was sought by three businessmen interested in importing medical equipment from Brazil, apart from others who wanted to buy agricultural products, like coffee and sugar.
*Translated by Mark Ament
