UAE-Brazil trade to rise in 2019

Fernando Luís Lemos Igreja says 2019 trade volumes will surpass the 2018's $2.6 billion.

UAE-Brazil bilateral trade is set to increase this year with intensified business transactions, a top Brazilian diplomat said.
"Bilateral trade stood at $2.6 billion in 2018. However, the first eight months of 2019 have already witnessed $2 billion in trade transactions. This means 2019 trade volumes will surpass the 2018 figures," Fernando Luís Lemos Igreja, Brazilian Ambassador to the UAE, told the Emirates News Agency (Wam).
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro began his three-day state visit to the UAE on Saturday. It is his first state visit to the Arab world since he became president in January this year.
Bolsonaro will open the Brazil-UAE Business Forum in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, Igreja said. The event will showcase investment opportunities in both countries; more than 100 Brazilian businesspersons have already reached the UAE to attend the forum. "We expect the same number of UAE businesspersons also at the forum," the ambassador said.
Sugar, poultry, meat and aircraft spare parts are the major exports from Brazil to the UAE, whereas fertiliser for agriculture is the main export from the UAE to Brazil, he explained.
Two daily flights operated by Emirates from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in Brazil are the only direct flights from the UAE to Latin America. "Therefore, Brazil acts as a gateway to Latin America for the UAE," he said.
The UAE and Brazil signed in 2018 bilateral agreements on avoidance of double taxation and facilitating investments.
Among the Brazilian companies operating in the UAE is BRF, one of the largest food companies in the world, with products under brands that include Sadia, Banvit, Hilal, Perdix and many others.
BRF has the biggest meat processing plant in the Middle East region in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi, which employs 600 people.
Igreja said that more such Brazilian companies are expected to enter the UAE market soon, adding that the innovation communities in the two countries also "have a close link". He mentioned that a Brazilian startup won the top prize at Gitex Future Stars, the region's biggest startup pitch competition.