{"id":280026,"date":"2020-09-09T16:30:49","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T19:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=280026"},"modified":"2020-09-09T16:32:15","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T19:32:15","slug":"farm-machinery-industry-looks-to-cooperate-with-morocco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/farm-machinery-industry-looks-to-cooperate-with-morocco\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm machinery industry looks to cooperate with Morocco"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Brazil\u2019s agricultural machinery company Jacto, which specializes in farming technology, is looking to work in cooperation with Morocco. Its commercial manager Gustavo Serizawa points out that knowledge could be shared in precision agriculture and spraying equipment. \u201cWe would like to cooperate in implementing new technologies. We take great pride in somehow contributing to that growth [in farming technology],\u201d Serizawa said during the webinar \u201cMorocco and Brazil: Agribusiness Connecting Continents.\u201d The event was hosted this Wednesday (9) by the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce<\/strong> (ABCC). It got viewed by 880 people in Brazil and the world over.<\/p>\n

In a bid to tap into farming opportunities in Morocco, Jacto<\/a> joined the International Agricultural Exhibition (SIAM) in the Arab country two years ago. \u201cIt\u2019s a really interesting show. We hope to attend again. We spoke with importers and distributors. [We found] an open market for mechanization. That led us to develop [portables division] Jacto Port\u00e1teis, due to the characteristics of tomato farming along the coast, hydroponic systems, citrus farming in the east, and olive farming. There are great business opportunities available in machinery and knowledge sharing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Abimaq executive director on foreign markets Patr\u00edcia Gomes was featured in the webinar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The manager explained that the company went so far as to engage in negotiations, but those did not go through. \u201cOur biggest issue is logistics, and then taxes. There are some policies in place which benefit closer partners of Morocco\u2019s, and I believe we can do more work on that,\u201d he said, adding that funding is a third aspect that could be improved.<\/p>\n

Also featured in the webinar was Patr\u00edcia Gomes, the executive director on Foreign Markets with the Brazilian Machinery and Equipment Industry Association (Abimaq). She said the Brazilian and Moroccan agribusiness industries complement one another, and discussed existing opportunities and challenges. Gomes mentioned ongoing Moroccan government plans including Plan Maroc Vert, which emphasizes family farming and tech investments. \u201cBrazil isn\u2019t a relevant supplier of machinery and equipment to Morocco, so there\u2019s room for improvement there. Brazil is the eighth biggest machinery and equipment producing country in the world. We must think of Brazil as a producer of technology,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Morocco’s ambassador to Bras\u00edlia Nabil Adghoghi believes Brazil-Morocco trade can increase<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The director remarked that harvesters and sprayers are Brazil\u2019s biggest-selling pieces of farming machinery. Regarding the industry\u2019s willingness to increase trade with Morocco, Gomes explains that the latter country can be a gateway into the entire surrounding region. \u201cMorocco is a regional hub,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

The opening of the webinar featured Brazil\u2019s ambassador to Rabat, Julio Bitelli, and Morocco\u2019s ambassador to Bras\u00edlia, Nabil Adghoghi, who said events such as the webinar are crucial in spawning actions conducive to trade. \u201cMorocco is a good market as it is. In order to improve its performance, Moroccan agriculture will require highly competitive farming machinery, and Brazilian farming machinery is perfectly able to service that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Julio Bitelli, Brazil’s ambassador to Rabat, discussed promising sectors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bitelli said this is a good time in Brazil-Morocco relations and went over what the most promising sectors are. \u201cHoney, animal feed, dairy, cattle embryo are fields in which we can see good results in a relatively short time span,\u201d Brazil\u2019s ambassador to Rabat said.<\/p>\n

The webinar was moderated by ABCC Institutional Relations manager Fernanda Baltazar. \u201cThis discussion was excellent. Everyone went over aspects of cooperation and improvement. Let\u2019s increase mutual awareness of these markets. That can lead to much bigger bilateral trade,\u201d said Baltazar.<\/p>\n

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ABCC Institutional Relations manager Fernanda Baltazar moderated the discussions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The event was kicked off by ABCC president Rubens Hannun. Panelists included Olavio Takenaka, head of OCP \u2013 Morocco\u2019s leading fertilizer manufacturer \u2013 in Brazil. He said Brazil is a strategic market. Alexandre Morais do Amaral, a researcher, manager and international coordinator at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), discussed Brazilian agriculture and existing partnership opportunities in innovation and technology. Brazil\u2019s agricultural attach\u00e9 to Morocco, Nilson C\u00e9sar Castanheira Guimar\u00e3es, went over how to enhance economic complementarity between Brazil and Morocco.<\/p>\n

More on the webinar will be available soon here on ANBA.<\/p>\n

You can watch the full webinar on the Arab Chamber\u2019s YouTube channel:<\/p>\n