Pernambuco, a state in Brazil's Northeast, wants to become a supplier hub of services and goods in the field of gas and oil. In order to accomplish the task, the Federation of Industries of the State of Pernambuco (Fiepe) has established the Oil, Gas, Offshore and Naval division. The goal is to prepare companies, especially small and medium ones, to become suppliers to projects in the segment.
"The initiative, coupled with structural investment that is entering the state, will put Pernambuco on the map of significant investment in manufacturing of parts and components for this important industry," said the president of the National Confederation of Industries (CNI), Monteiro Neto. He attended the launch of the project last week.
The division will be linked to the Industrial Development, Articulation and Integration Hub (NDI) and should start operating this month. The partners involved are the Program for Mobilization of the National Oil Industry (Prominp), the Brazilian Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuels Institute (IBP), the National Organization of the Petroleum Industry (Onip) and the National Union of the Naval and Offshore Construction and Repair Industry (Sinaval).
One of the new division's priorities is infrastructure to support engineering companies in the elaboration of projects and the planning of construction, assembly and maintenance of equipment and premises. The first event turned to discussion of the engineering environment, to be promoted by the IBP, is scheduled to take place this month.
In August, a business meeting should bring together representatives of companies hired by the Abreu e Lima refinery. The agenda for the meeting includes presentation of demand for goods and services and selection criteria for micro, small and medium businesses in the state of Pernambuco to be able to identify business opportunities.
"We are working in tandem to create a chain of suppliers and of labour force training, geared at the investment that should take place in the oil, gas, naval and offshore sectors underway in the state," said the president of Fiepe, Jorge Côrte Real.
Fruit Farming
Alto Uruguay, a region in Brazil's southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, is gradually becoming a large producer of fruit. The bulk of production still consists of grain, which covers 818.000 acres, but orchard crops grow by the year, according to information published on the website of the Emater/Ascar, a public company of rural technical assistance that operates in several states of Brazil.
According to the company website, in the municipality of Mariano Moro, for example, orchard crops, which were zero in 1990, currently occupy 1.235 acres. The main reason, according to the head of the municipal office of Emater/RS-Ascar in Mariano Moro, Armando Vendrami, is the region's ideal climate for fruit production. Fruit farming is more profitable than grain crops as well.
There is also the possibility of sure sales of fruit. A group of 30 truckers buys part of the production, which is targeted at the states of Santa Catarina, Paraná and Mato Grosso, in addition to Rio Grande do Sul itself.
"Grain production is for large properties. Small farmers are more likely to earn more from fruit than from grain. The trend here is to expand production so as to include other type of fruit, such as melon, pineapple and persimmon," said Vendrami.
Presently, out of 400 families in the rural area of Mariano Moro who benefit from the services of Emater/RS-Ascar, 180 are involved in fruit farming and citriculture.
Diversification provides further income options to farmers and strengthens their permanence in the rural area. Vendrami, who is passionate about fruit farming, is also the president of the Mariano Moro Fruit Farmers Association. According to him, investing in fruit farming is great business.
Anba
