The Brazilian Trade and Investment Agency “ApexBrasil” has signed an agreement with the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce to promote exporting food products to Muslim countries.
The plan is to promote the sale of higher-quality food products, taking advantage of the close relationship that Brazil and Islamic countries have established over the years for trade in unprocessed agricultural products.
Brazil is the world’s second-largest supplier of food and beverages to the Muslim world after India, but mainly sells commodities such as sugar, soybeans, chicken, and corn.
The agreement calls for a joint investment of about US$2.84 million over 30 months to diversify exports.
The initiative includes grants for Brazilian food companies that want to apply for what is known as a halal certification for their products.
Halal certification means that a product is suitable for consumption in Muslim societies, where food is only allowed if it is prepared according to certain specifications.
Tamer Mansour, the chamber’s secretary general, said that the goal is to allow 500 potential Brazilian food and beverage exporters to participate in the global halal food trade.
The statement said that the halal market includes 1.9 billion consumers and is worth US$1.3 trillion per year, referring to the State of the Global Islamic Economy 2022 report.
In 2021, Brazil exported US$16.5 billion worth of food and beverages to the 57 countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. That represented 7.2% of the bloc’s total imports.
With information from Latina Press