São Paulo – Sudan wants to attract Brazilian companies to invest in food production in the country in the next few years. This Monday (23th), the minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation of Khartoum, Mudathir Abdulghani Hassan, visited the office of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, in São Paulo and met with Brazilian food sector companies and associations.
To ANBA, Hassan stated that Sudan offers good business opportunities to foreign investors and needs these businessmen to help develop local production and guarantee food security. “We need machinery, technology, companies that own equipment to guarantee the expansion of production and the quality improvement of local products”, said the minister. Some of the sectors pointed out by him as priorities are poultry production and the development of fish production farms.
The Sudanese minister met with representatives of the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA) and of companies Kilbra, which produces, among others, equipment for egg-laying and animal protection, and Ferraz Máquinas, which produces machines for animal feed. Hassan said that Sudan needs, for instance, vertical cages to accommodate the chicken. Also needed by the country is the support to develop animal slaughter standards.
Hassan came to Brazil because this Tuesday (24th) he will give a lecture in the seminar “Brazil and North Africa – Opportunities in agribusiness and food security”, promoted by the Institute Brazil Africa in partnership with the Arab Chamber. In his visit to the Chamber, Hassan was followed by the Sudanese ambassador in Brasilia, Abd Elghani Awad Elkarim, and Abazar Yousif Ali, the director of the company CTC.
The minister said that Brazil already is a partner to Sudan and noted that Brazilian businessmen can invest more in his country. Among the incentives that Sudan offers, according to the minister, are the great availability of land and water and the concessions guaranteed by the law for investments attraction. He also said that Sudan’s and Arab countries’ markets are large and still growing.
Brazilian exports to Sudan stood at US$ 16.9 million last year, a 68.4% drop in comparison to US$ 53.6 million in 2013. The main products sold by Brazil in 2014 were agricultural machines and beef.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
