Brazilian Agriculture minister Tereza Cristina's tour of Arab countries is the highlight of your ANBA Bulletin, exceptionally on a Thursday (19). During a Brazil-Saudi Arabia business seminar in Riyadh, Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) managing director Khaled Mohammed Al-Aboodi told ANBA's Isaura Daniel that the company is looking to invest in agriculture and logistics projects in Brazil. SALIC owns a 32.9% stake in meat company Minerva. “We are looking some more,” said Al-Aboodi. Tereza Cristina said Brazil needs infrastructure investment. “Brazil boasts high-yield farming, but some aspects from farm to port detract from our ability to compete at the international level,” she explained.
Also in Riyadh, Cristina had a meeting with Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) CEO Hisham Bin Saad Al Jadhey, who relayed to her that Saudi Arabia has gave the green light to imports of fruit, nuts and egg products from Brazil – a market estimated to be worth over USD 2 billion. The Brazilian minister also said she called upon the SFDA to reaccredit poultry processing units in Brazil that have been off the list of facilities authorized to ship product to Saudi Arabia since last January. “We called for the resumption of sales by four plants,” she revealed.
In turn, Kuwait is expected to resume imports of beef from Brazil, which have been on hold since 2013. Cristina believes the ban will end soon. Brazil's ambassador to Kuwait, Norton de Andrade Mello Rapesta, said the local beef market is worth USD 150 million a year.
And this week saw the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce take part in the Arab International Investor Forum (AiiF) in Paris, France, represented by its president Rubens Hannun. “We were invited in the capacity of guests of honor. Perhaps in upcoming editions we’ll be back with a delegation,” he said.
And check out a profile of Brazilian singer-songwriter Fauzi Beydoun, of the reggae band Tribo de Jah. The son of a Lebanese father, he told ANBA's Bruna Garcia about his relationship with his dad, the history of his band, and his latest solo project, Fauzi Beydoun & The Soul Vibe, which combines different rhythms.
