Importing meat has been the talk of the town during the just-concluded visit of Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira.
Brazil is one of the largest exporters of meat globally. Middle-east countries source their halal meat from Brazil. There is a demand for meat in Bangladesh, as beef gets pricier by the day.
The Brazilian foreign minister has offered partnership to help Bangladesh ensure food security using the experience of the ready-made clothes export.
He urged collaboration for international health certificates to export halal meat to Bangladesh, promising significant boost to food security.
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Speaking before the businessmen on Monday before leaving Dhaka, Mauro Vieira said the Bangladeshi market is extremely important for Brazilian cotton farmers, being among the three main destinations for Brazilian exports of this fibre, which guarantees income and employment for thousands of Brazilians.
On the Bangladeshi side, the local economy benefits from a cheap and high-quality product, which forms the basis of Bangladesh's main export product, textiles, generating a large volume of foreign exchange for the country and helping to promote its social development, he said.
“Together, we can replicate this mutually beneficial partnership in several other areas, with many positive impacts - including on food security,” said the visiting foreign minister.
This was the first-ever visit of a Brazilian foreign minister to Bangladesh since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1972.
Asia, a diverse and dynamic continent, has played a fundamental role in the global economic scenario over the last few decades.
“Bangladesh is an important part of this scenario, due to its relevant industrial production, its technological advances in various sectors and the entrepreneurial capacity of its people,” Mauro Vieira said.
Brazil’s complementarity
Some argue that Brazil’s proposal to improve Bangladesh’s animal protein industry can hamper the growth of local farmers.
Brazil's foreign minister, however, believes it's the other way around.
“In Brazil, we are aware of the strength of our agribusiness sector, being present in markets all around the world. But in this sense, it is important to emphasize, however, that Brazil does not engage in food trade to displace anyone from their own markets,” he said.
“Brazil is a partner for development and knows how to help our friends in the journey we took ourselves fifty years ago, when we left a situation of being food importers to start feeding our population and even becoming exporters,” he said while highlighting the concept of “complementarity”.
“Brazil can be a partner in offering those products that the local producer, for one reason or another, cannot offer in its domestic market.”
“The local production of food in Bangladesh can benefit greatly from partnering with Brazil – be it through trade, agricultural cooperation, or even direct investments from Brazilian companies here in Bangladesh,” he said.
Ready to contribute to Bangladesh friends
Regarding animal protein, he said, Brazil is increasingly consolidating itself as the largest exporter in the world, guaranteeing enough food to meet the caloric needs of more than 10% of the world population, in markets on all continents.
“Brazil is the world's largest exporter of soybeans, corn, coffee, sugar, beef, and chicken. Therefore, given the size of the Bangladeshi population, I leave a clear message: we are ready to contribute to the food security of our Bangladeshi friends,” he said.
“Our products are competitive, reliable and of great quality. Brazilian businesspeople, when abroad, easily adapt to local habits. As an example, I highlight that Brazil is today the largest producer and exporter of halal-certified meat in the world. It is a food of quality that respects Islamic and Bangladeshi culture.”
“We are ready to contribute to the food security of our Bangladeshi friends,” he said.
“However, I emphasize that, due to bureaucratic procedures that we have not yet managed to overcome together, there is still no International Health Certificate so that we can export halal meat produced in Brazil to Bangladesh.
“I therefore ask that we work together so that we can soon conclude this agreement that will allow a huge Brazilian contribution to Bangladeshi food security,” the foreign minister said.
What’s the bureaucratic requirement
Md Saiful Alam, vice-president of Brazil Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BBCCI), said Bangladesh follows the WTO’s sanitary requirement for meat import.
He told Dhaka Tribune: “This is not compatible with Brazil, despite the fact that Brazil is one of the largest meat exporters. Brazil is also the top exporter of Halal meat to middle-eastern countries. That’s why the foreign minister made the call to work together and set our own standards of import.
“We can take Brazil’s experience because Brazil also faced similar problems 50 years ago. And today, they could do it in such a standard way that even the poultry sector does not require any vaccine,” he said, for example.
The Brazilian foreign minister also said that Brazilian livestock and poultry farming are recognized worldwide for the reliability of their products, which follow the highest health standards in the world.
“Brazil is a reliable partner that guarantees the delivery of its products across the globe and, I am proud to highlight, it has never suspended the export of any product during the health emergency generated by the Covid-19 pandemic, having been the only major food exporter in the world that has honored all its commercial commitments,” he said.
Enormous potentials
During the visit, both countries signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement that would allow each other to share expertise.
Mauro Vieira also invited Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit Brazil in July and said the similar views of Brazil president Lula da Silva and Sheikh Hasina set the ground to upscale Dhaka-Brasilia ties.
"Considering the similarities between President Lula's and Prime Minister Hasina's world views, policies and priorities, in particular their quest for development and social justice, conditions are set for our bilateral relations to upscale," he had said.
“There is still enormous potential for growth in our bilateral trade flows by including products with greater added value such as civil and military aircraft, pharmaceutical products, plastics, and other industrialized goods,” he said.
“Being two countries from the tropical belt, we share habits, experiences, and products that we often cannot find in countries in the Global North.
“We must take advantage of this common attribute and look for our own solutions in terms of agriculture, industry, and services,” he said.