CNA joins trade mission to ASEAN’s countries

10/10/2022

Last month, the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA) went on a trade mission to four countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Gedeão Pereira, CNA’s Vice-president of International Relations, and Sueme Mori, CNA’s Director of International Relations, represented Brazilian Farmers on visits that included Manila (Philippines), Jakarta (Indonesia), Singapore City (Singapore), and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

The mission was led by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil). Public and private entities, as well as companies from various sectors, took part in seminars, technical visits, and meetings with potential international buyers.

As Gedeão Pereira explained, CNA’s goal was to prospect new markets for small agribusinesses companies that take part in the Agro.BR project. According to Ambassador Alex Giacomelli da Silva, Director of the MRE’s Trade and Investment Promotion Department, the mission will be the first one in a process of rapprochement with Southeast Asian countries.

The first destination was Manila, where the mission members attended seminars with lectures on economics and international trade with the World Bank in the Philippines, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). The schedule also included sector meetings, in which Brazilian entrepreneurs discussed the challenges for exports in beef, coffee, legumes, confectionery (chocolate, nuts, and candies) sugarcane, and ethanol chains.

In Jakarta, participants were given information about the country’s economy, regulatory environment, foreign trade, and investments during a seminar that gathered representatives from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), the Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, and the Institute for Economic Development and Finance.

On the next stop, Singapore, CNA’s representatives joined a seminar on the importance of the country as a trade hub for Southeast Asia. The event included lectures by ministers, ambassadors, and businessmen from the beef, beans, legumes, and coffee sectors. In the afternoon, CNA’s representatives took part in sectorial meetings with potential international buyers.

In Kuala Lumpur, Gedeão Pereira and Sueme Mori attended a seminar on overviewing Malaysian trade and economic prospects, attended by the Ambassador of Brazil in Malaysia, ASEAN’s representatives, and local public and private organizations. The schedule also included meetings with companies interested in trading Brazilian agricultural and livestock products and government authorities to discuss import procedures, including halal certification. “It was important to learn about the requirements for importing animal and plant products,” said Mori.