Shamali, Brazilian agriculture minister talk economic cooperation

AMMAN — Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Yousef  Shamali and Brazilian Minister of Agriculture Marcos Montes and his accompanying delegation on Sunday discussed means to enhance economic cooperation, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

During the meeting, which was attended by Brazilian Ambassador to Jordan Ruy Amaral and representatives from the Brazilian private sector, they also focused on increasing trade and stimulating the private sector in both countries.

Shamali affirmed Jordan's keenness to develop economic cooperation with Brazil and contribute to increasing the volume of intra-regional trade, which has witnessed growth in recent years, but is still below the required level.

In 2021, the volume of trade between the two countries amounted to about $419 million, of which $292 million were Jordanian imports from Brazil and $126.87 million were Jordanian exports to the Brazilian market, constituting an increase of 190 per cent compared with 2020.

Shamali presented potential areas of trade, the most important of which are Jordanian fertilisers, chemicals, medicines and pharmaceutical products.

He called on the Brazilian private sector and businesspeople to make use of the opportunities available in Jordan and its investment environment.

He also highlighted Jordanian products’ access to the largest and most important global markets and reaching more than one billion consumers around the world thanks to free trade agreements signed by Jordan and other countries as well as bilateral and multilateral economic blocs.

The Brazilian minister expressed his country's interest in increasing its imports of Jordanian goods, especially fertilisers, in light of the development of the agricultural sector in Brazil and the increase in the quantities of agricultural production to enhance food security.

He noted that Jordanian fertilisers are of high quality and have seen remarkable recognition by farmers in Brazil, which supports increased trade cooperation between the two countries in this sector.