Brazil offers apples, acai in broader trade push with PH

Caption for solo pic: Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Secretary of Trade and International Relations Luis Rua. Photo by Jordeene B. Lagare

Brazil aims to boost its agricultural trade with the Philippines, as the South American nation signified its willingness to provide high-quality goods to aid the government in controlling inflation.

Luis Rua, secretary of trade and international relations at Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, said his country was prepared to offer other agricultural products such as apples, peanuts and onions.

“These are the three products that we think we can, in a way, help the [Philippine government] in order to control inflation and also offer a very good, very high-quality products,” Rua said on the sidelines of the Wofex Drinks + Bakes held in Pasay City.

In the case of onions, he said Brazil was working on signing a technical agreement, one of the requirements needed before a particular country can export an agricultural product to the Philippines.

Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, slowed to 2.1 percent in February from 2.9 percent a month ago, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The latest reading showed a five-month low as inflation hit 1.9 percent in September last year, or near the low end of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ forecast.

Good relationship

Rua said Brazil planned to resolve at the soonest time possible all technical issues to expand exports and increase importation of Philippine products at the same time.

“The relationship is very good. There is a lot of transparency between both authorities,” Rua said, adding, “ … At the same time we believe that we can add new products to this trade relationship.”

“We are going to discuss technically how to proceed in order to have Filipino seafood and fish products in Brazil,” he told reporters, noting that there was a demand for locally caught tuna, sardines and fish.

He said Brazil also seeks to supply acai, a small and dark purple berry of a South American palm tree, along with coffee and cachaça, a Brazilian distilled spirit from fermented sugarcane juice.

The South American nation is keen on adding more meat products for exports to Manila, such as bone-in cuts and muffles for beef, as it expects increased meat exports this year.

“Filipino companies want more chicken, pork or beef from Brazil. We will be able to provide this product that—we know that Brazil is reliable,” he added.

Brazil is the country’s top imported meat supplier, holding a market share of more than 36 percent in 2024, data from the Bureau of Animal Industry showed.

Rua led the Brazilian delegation that participated in a high-level commercial mission to the Philippines last week. INQ