Brazil’S Tariffs Cuts Cover Arab Food Products

(MENAFN- Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA)) São Paulo – The Brazilian government announced the exemption of import taxes on certain foods in a bid to reduce their prices and help contain inflation in the country. The group includes olive oil, corn, sunflower oil, sardines, biscuits, pasta, coffee, meat, and sugar. Two of these items, olive oil and sardines, have Arab countries as some of Brazil's international suppliers, presenting an expansion opportunity for the region's in the Brazilian market, according to Estevão Margotti de Carvalho, Director of New Business at the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC ).

“Olive oil is a product traditionally produced by Arab countries, particularly those in North Africa. We had the presence of Arab companies selling olive oil in the area organized by the ABCC at the last editions of the APAS Show,” said Carvalho. He mentions the strong presence of Tunisian olive oil companies as exhibitors at the 2024 APAS Show but also points out that other Arab countries, such as Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt, are also olive oil producers.

Carvalho: Arab brands can be an alternative supply option.

According to data released by the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services , the tariff for olive oil is 9% to enter Brazil. For sardines, the rate is 32%. The tariff for corn is 7.2%, sunflower oil is up to 9%, cookies are 16.2%, pasta 14.4%, coffee 10.8%, meat 10.8%, and sugar 14%. All these products will have the import tax reduced to zero, but the measure still needs to be approved by the Foreign Trade Chamber (CAMEX) to take effect.

“We understand that the reduction of these import tariffs on olive oil presents opportunities both for Arab companies to establish themselves in Brazil and sell their products, as well as for Brazilian companies to find an alternative source of quality products,” says Carvalho. Tunisia was among the top ten suppliers of olive oil to Brazil last year, with USD 15.2 million, according to data from the trade ministry. The value doubled compared to 2023.

“Another product that catches our attention is sardines, as Morocco is the world's largest producer of this fish. Morocco is highly competitive in this area, has a global presence, and even though Brazil its own robust local production, we believe this reduction in tariffs also presents an opportunity both for Moroccans to increase their presence here in Brazil and for Brazilian companies to access an alternative source of the product,” says Carvalho.

Last year, Morocco supplied USD 10 million worth of frozen sardines to the Brazilian market. However, this value dropped to less than half compared to the previous year, when the Arab country had exported USD 23.9 million worth of sardines to Brazil. The volume also decreased, from 21,900 tonnes in 2023 to 8,700 tonnes last year. Morocco has a strong fishing industry and is one of the leading global suppliers in the segment.

To curb inflation

The decision to eliminate the import tax was made last Thursday (6) after meetings between the federal government, entrepreneurs, farmers, and representatives from the productive sector. In addition to this, other measures were taken to reduce food prices.“These are measures to reduce prices, to favor citizens, so they can maintain their purchasing power and have a better price for their basic food basket. This also ends up stimulating the productive sector and trade,” said Brazil Vice President and Trade Minister Geraldo Alckmin.

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Translated by Guilherme Miranda

Marcelo Camargo/Agência BrasilMarcos Carrieri/ANBA

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