(MENAFN- Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA)) São Paulo – The Secretary-General and Vice President of International Relations of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC ), Mohamad Orra Mourad, presented the opportunities and challenges for Brazilian agribusiness at the Meeting of SECOMs, SECTECs, and Agricultural Attachés, organized by the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday (2). Among the challenges, Mourad mentioned logistical obstacles and the need to export more high-value products. Among the opportunities is exploring the halal products market, with halal meaning fit for Muslim consumption.

The event, organized by ApexBrasil in partnership with Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dubai, concludes the global series of meetings being held since 2023 with embassy trade and investment promotion sectors (SECOMs), science, technology, and innovation sectors (SECTECs), and agricultural attachés. On Thursday (2) and Friday (3), discussion panels were held on the internationalization of Brazilian products in the Middle East and India.

According to Mourad, his panel discussed the challenges of expanding higher value-added agribusiness products beyond those in which Brazil is already a major supplier in the region, such as beef and chicken. Logistical difficulties in reaching the Middle East were another topic of the meeting, said the ABCC executive, noting that agribusiness products are sensitive to long journeys before reaching the final consumer.

Starting this month, the world's largest container shipping company, MSC, will operate a direct route between Brazil and the UAE, which will help reduce the logistical challenge.“It's a first step,” Mourad said.

The business opportunity to be explored in the Arab world, Mourad noted, is the halal market, as Brazil is a major producer of halal protein and the ABCC understands the market in Arab countries. He took the opportunity to invite participants to the 3^rd Global Halal Brazil Business Forum, which the ABCC will hold on October 27-28 in São Paulo in partnership with halal product certifier FAMBRAS Halal.

Other panels at the meeting discussed opportunities for industry and services, including sectors such as aviation, healthcare, and sanitary stones and metals. Rafael Solimeo, head of the ABCC office in Dubai, said that one of the topics debated was positioning the Brazil brand as a country that produces high value-added products, similar to what happens with Italian fashion goods.

Regarding opportunities for halal products made in Brazil for the Arab world, he said,“One thing we can affirm is that the ABCC understands halal in the Arab world better than anyone. We can strongly support the private sector in positioning itself in the Arab world, after all, the ABCC is Arab, and we know how Arabs think,” he said.

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Translated by Guilherme Miranda

Supplied/Arab-Brazilian Chamber

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