Brazilian companies interested in exporting can find in the Middle East logistics solutions and the distribution of goods to different countries. For this reason, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) defends the deepening of relations between nations.
The United Arab Emirates, where Dubai and Abu Dhabi are located, has become, in recent decades, one of the world’s largest commercial centers due to the extensive maritime infrastructure in the Persian Gulf region and air cargo terminals. Focusing on the redistribution of goods around the world, the country has a free zone dedicated to different economic segments.
The Ambassador of Brazil to the United Arab Emirates, Fernando Igreja speaks to the press at the Embassy in Abu Dhabi – Tomaz Silva/Agência Brasil
The Brazilian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Fernando Igreja, highlights the privileged location of the Arab country.
“The Emirates occupy a strategic position in geographical terms, at the entrance to the Gulf. They are perhaps the country with the greatest political and economic stability in the entire Middle East and North Africa, characteristics that justify the Brazilian presence”, he added.
Last year, for example, Dubai imported 8 million tons of food and re-exported the equivalent of 6.277 million tons through its ports. More than 78 thousand export health certificates were issued.
In 2021, this trade and redistribution center achieved the best result in attracting international companies, with 2,485 new companies. In the previous year, there were 2,025 new adhesions. In total, the country has more than 20,000 member companies since its opening 20 years ago.
The operational head of the Apex-Brasil office in Dubai, Karen Jones, explains that the participation of Brazilian companies in this context is difficult to measure.
The head of operations at the Apex-Brasil office in Dubai, Karen Jones speaks to the press – Tomaz Silva/Agência Brasil
“Even in partnerships with local government agencies, we find it difficult to map exact numbers. The numbers they pull often rely on companies that have a Brazilian as a representative,” he said.
Despite this, the estimate is that there are between 40 and 50 companies in Brazil. Some examples are JBS, BRF, Embraer, Vale, Tramontina and Boticário.
The airport sector in Abu Dhabi also showed good results in terms of cargo traffic during 2021. There was a 31.8% increase in transported volume, from 540,144 tons in 2020 to 711,715 tons in 2021. The performance was attributed to the increase in cargo shipments general and special products such as express goods, temperature controlled and pharmaceuticals.
*Reporter Fernanda Cruz and photographer Tomaz Silva traveled at the invitation of Apex-Brasil
