{"id":280061,"date":"2020-09-09T19:06:36","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T22:06:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=280061"},"modified":"2020-09-09T19:06:36","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T22:06:36","slug":"brazil-has-the-potential-to-step-up-exports-to-morocco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/brazil-has-the-potential-to-step-up-exports-to-morocco\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil has the potential to step up exports to Morocco"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 There is a world of products that could be exported from Brazil to the Moroccan market. Such was one of the conclusions drawn in the webinar \u201cMorocco and Brazil: Agribusiness Connecting continents,\u201d hosted by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce<\/strong> (ABCC) this Wednesday (9) and viewed by an audience of 880 people. The agricultural attach\u00e9 at the Embassy of Brazil in Morocco, Nilson Guimar\u00e3es (pictured above<\/em>), made the argument during the online event hosted by ABCC president Rubens Hannun.<\/p>\n

Guimar\u00e3es said Brazil can supply more coffee and tropical fruit to Morocco, as well as genetic material for poultry and livestock and what he called Brazilian biodiversity products such as yerba mate, baba\u00e7u oil, Baru nut, Brazil nut and a\u00e7a\u00ed.<\/p>\n

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ABCC president Rubens Hannun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last year saw roughly USD 270 million worth of goods exported from Brazil to Morocco. The best-sellers were sugar and grains, particularly maize, black pepper and coffee. According to Guimar\u00e3es, exports increased the most this year for coffee, black pepper, sugar, and soy.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrazilian-Moroccan agricultural trade has increased substantially in 2020. In the first half, exports increased by 51.3% over a year ago, and Morocco became the third-biggest destination for Brazilian agricultural exports in Africa. Shipped volume also increased, by about 27%,\u201d the attach\u00e9 said.<\/p>\n

In addition to the usual products, new ones could come into the picture. As a case in point, Guimar\u00e3es said Morocco recently gave the green light to imports of poultry genetics (hatching eggs and day-old chicks) as well as fish and related products. According to him, seven other animal-based items are in discussion, including apiculture items, animal feed ingredients, natural packaging, dairy, cattle embryos and semen, and livestock.<\/p>\n

Morocco supplies Brazil with mostly fish, such as sardines, and fertilizers, mostly phosphate or phosphate-based \u2013 fertilizer sales amounted to USD 650 million last year.<\/p>\n

Complementarity<\/strong><\/p>\n

The attach\u00e9 said Brazil\u2019s and Morocco\u2019s farming industries are different and could complement one another. \u201cMoroccan agriculture is based around small and medium-sized properties and specialty products in general. Brazilian agriculture is about commodities and large properties,\u201d he said before going on to discuss differences in climate and rainfall frequency.<\/p>\n

Apart from fertilizer and sardines, Guimar\u00e3es said Morocco could supply frozen red fruit (Brazil does import frozen strawberries from Morocco), olive oil and olive preserves, as well as Argan oil, which can be used in cooking and cosmetics \u2013 the latter being more widespread in Brazil.<\/p>\n

Embrapa<\/strong><\/p>\n

The webinar also featured Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) researcher Alexandre Amaral. He discussed science-based farming in Brazil and partnerships for innovation and technology.<\/p>\n

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Alexandre Amaral of Embrapa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Amaral, yields have greatly increased in Brazil since the 1970s. \u201cPlanted area increased by about 30%, while output increased by 390%. Yields increased by over 260% and that\u2019s all a result of technology being employed. It\u2019s what we call a \u2018land-saver.\u2019 Output has gone up while the area remained the same. That can only be achieved through technology,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Science-based farming, he said, is able to increase productivity through the input of state-level organizations, Brazilian universities, the federal professional training network, and Embrapa, which boasts 43 research centers and over 2,200 researchers across Brazil.<\/p>\n

Amaral said the biggest challenges when it comes to innovation are bringing about integration and connectivity in decision-making when it comes to precision and digital agriculture; connecting devices and sensors. and integrated digital platforms for irrigation and the analysis of soils, plants and animals. That can be done through public-private partnerships, knowledge transfer, licensing, and service provision.<\/p>\n

OCP Brazil<\/strong><\/p>\n

OCP, which is Morocco\u2019s leading fertilizer manufacturer, has an arm in Brazil. Local head Olavio Takenaka discussed Brazil\u2019s status as a strategic market. He said that even though Brazil is a major player when it comes to commodities and one of the biggest agricultural exporting countries in the world, Brazil\u2019s soil is nutrient-deficient. As a result, it needs to import fertilizers \u2013 particularly phosphate-, nitrogen- and potassium-based ones. According to him, Brazil imports over 60% of its phosphate needs, 75% of its nitrogen needs, and 90% of potassium needs.<\/p>\n

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Olavio Takenaka, head of OCP in Brazil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAccording to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organizatoin (FAO), Brazil will need to provide 40% of the needed increment in food to meet the needs of 10 million people by 2050. We have a major challenge facing us in multiple fields, especially fertilizers if we are to supply adequate product in proper amounts. Morocco has vast reserves. It has over 70% of the world\u2019s phosphorus reserves, and we will keep supplying Brazil with quality product at the right time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

OCP is a centennial state-run Moroccan company. It has been supplying product to Brazil for over 30 years now. It opened its first branch in Brazil in 2010. Now, it has 10 branches across the country, and it\u2019s expected to add another five by next year. Takenaka says Brazil is a key market for the company. OCP is working in tandem with Embrapa to map out Brazilian soils. It is also working on research facilitation and researcher exchange.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrazil has a global responsibility, because it has all this wealth of vast areas, its climate, its technical prowess and its technology. Fertilizers from OCP and Morocco will be on that long road to 2050, to supply about 10 billion people with food,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The ABCC\u2019s president agreed with Takenaka. \u201cBrazil will surely achieve that bold, though viable output. We have a firm belief in that complementarity and in our path together,\u201d he said. Hannun argued that the ABCC\u2019s role is to connect different parties to bring about the development of trade, as well as social and cultural relations between Brazil and the Arab countries.<\/p>\n

The president of the ABCC also invited viewers to join the Brazil-Arab Countries Economic Forum, themed \u201cThe Future is Now\u201d and taking place online from October 19 to 22. \u201cDiscussions will include strategic partnerships, new ways of doing business, food security, halal development, etc.<\/p>\n

The webinar also featured Brazil\u2019s ambassador to Morocco, Julio Glinternick Bitelli; Morocco\u2019s ambassador to Brazil, Nabil Adghoghi; Brazilian Machinery and Equipment Industry Association (Abimaq) executive director on Foreign Markets, Patr\u00edcia Gomes; farm machinery company Jacto\u2019s commercial manager Gustavo Serizawa; and ABCC Institutional Relations manager Fernanda Baltazar.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for another story on the webinar.<\/p>\n

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