São Paulo – The Brazilian minister of Agriculture Neri Geller, currently in Cairo, has told ANBA over the telephone that he is confident agriculture and livestock trade with Egypt should soar, and that the Arab country will lift its ban on beef imports from the state of Mato Grosso, as did Iran earlier this week.
Geller is heading a mission of Brazilian executives and government officials to the Egyptian capital. This Wednesday (27th), the delegation was surprised with an invitation for an unscheduled meeting with president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
“The president showed keen interest in the food security issue,” Geller said. He also said El-Sisi signalled that Egypt’s market for Brazilian “animal protein” is poised to grow even further. The minister believes exports of items such as maize and soy are very likely to increase as well.
During the meeting with Sisi, Geller said he also discussed the possibility of the two countries exchanging goods, namely Brazilian agricultural products for Egyptian fertilizers. “We outlined Brazil’s potential [in this respect],” the minister asserted.
He remarked, for instance, that cereal output in Brazil soared from 96 million tonnes to 200 million in twelve years. “And our agroindustry has expanded greatly,” he said.
Geller is extremely optimistic regarding the possibility of Egypt’s lifting the embargo on beef from the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso and easing its requirement that all poultry shipments be inspected, a procedure adopted this year. “Iran has cleared imports from Mato Grosso, and things should be no different here,” he said.
The delegation has not been given a final answer yet, but the minister said the decision is “well underway.” This Thursday (28th), Geller will meet with the Egyptian minister of Agriculture, Adel El-Beltagy. “I am extremely optimistic,” the Brazilian minister said.
Egypt and Iran, visited by the mission earlier this week, banned purchases from Mato Grosso after the causative agent of spongiform bovine encephalopathy – aka mad cow disease – was detected in an animal in the state this year.
The occurrence was labelled “atypical,” since, according to Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry, the animal died of old age rather than contamination. Brazil’s risk status for the disease remains negligible, according to the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE).
The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce‘s CEO Michel Alaby and government relations manager Tamer Mansour are part of the delegation. According to Alaby, this Wednesday the group has also met with Egyptian food importers at the Brazilian embassy in Cairo, to provide in-depth information regarding Brazil’s sanitary status and to show OIE reports.
The mission members also visited the supermarket chain Ragab Sons, which took part in the World Cup Buyer Project for matchmaking between Brazilian and Arab companies, held at the Arab Chamber headquarters during the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum