Kuwait opens market to Brazilian honey

Minister Tereza Cristina (Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply) announced on Wednesday (09/18) the opening of the Kuwait market for Brazilian honey. The authorization from the Arab country had been waited on since 2016.

According to the minister, the health certification was completed by the government of Kuwait. “Brazil can export honey immediately,” she said in an interview with local journalists.

On the first day of engagement in the country, the minister met with the director of the Supreme Committee of the Public Authority for Food Safety, Reem Al Fulaij, and the director general of the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fisheries, Sheikh Mohammed Al Sabah.

At the meetings, the minister discussed new issuance of export certificates and technical cooperation in the area of fishing and aquaculture. Tereza Cristina stressed that Embrapa can contribute to this mission, as it already owns two captive fish research and breeding centers.

The technical meetings were attended by the Secretary of Commerce and International Relations of the Ministry, Orlando Ribeiro, Brazil’s ambassador to Kuwait, Norton de Andrade Mello Rapesta, and agricultural attaché Marcel Moreira.

Tereza Cristina paid a courtesy visit to the director-general of the Kuwaiti Arab Economic Development Fund, Abdulwahab Al Bader. She talked about the possibility of the fund investing about US$50m in projects of AgroNordeste, a program to be launched that aims to leverage agricultural production in the semiarid region, generate income for small producers, and their inclusion in the productive system and national credit.

The minister explained that the idea is for the fund to lend the resources, at appropriate interest, for projects such as irrigation and solar energy. “We can make a more robust program for small producers in the Brazilian Northeast,” he said.

Bilateral trade

Chicken meat (in natura) is the most purchased Brazilian agricultural product by Kuwait. In 2018, 122,945 tons were imported, equivalent to US$185.7m. Next is corn, orange juice, instant coffee, soybean meal, green coffee, chicken meat (processed), duck meat (in natura), cashews, and turkey meat (in natura).

Last year, agricultural exports to Kuwait totaled US$209.4m, equivalent to 215,463 tons. There are no records of imports of products from the Arab country.

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