Emirates SkyCargo will extend its global reach after signing a partnership agreement with Brazilian airline operator GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes.

The cargo division of Emirates airline and the Sao-Paulo-based company's freight section, Gollog, will transport goods to all destinations operated by the two carriers.

Gollog will use aircraft from GTA and VRG – GOL's airline subsidiaries – to transport cargo from any of the 59 destinations in Brazil and South America served by the two carriers and deliver it to Sao Paulo's Guarulhos International Airport.

The goods will be transferred to Emirates aircraft for shipment to Dubai.

Emirates will then distribute the cargo to any of the more than 100 destinations in 62 countries.

Alternatively cargo flown to Sao Paulo by Emirates SkyCargo will be transferred to GTA and VRG aircraft and transported to its final destination through GOL's domestic and international network. "The partnership with Emirates SkyCargo demonstrates our team's ability to meet new market demands, in addition to providing our customers with an additional alternative," said Tarcisio Gargioni, GOL's Vice-President for Marketing and Services. By working together we hope to increase commercial relations between South America, the Middle East and Asia."

Emirates SkyCargo operates seven weekly flights between Sao Paulo and Dubai.

The Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce says Brazilian exports transported by air to Arab countries have increased by 60 per cent since the company entered the market, increasing from 2,200 to 3,400 tonnes.

GTA operates more than 640 daily flights to 56 destinations in Brazil and elsewhere in South America.

VRG offers more than 120 daily flights to 14 destinations in Brazil.

Peter Sedgley, Senior Vice-President, Cargo Commercial Operations, at Emirates SkyCargo, told Emirates Business the company would maintain the 19 per cent growth in tonnage and revenues it achieved last year as it enters new markets.

The company hopes to escape any downturn arising from the United States economic slowdown and fuel price increases as it benefits from the economic boom in East Asia, Australasia and South America.

"There are all indications that the level of growth achieved last year will be sustained throughout this year," added Sedgley. "We have enough support to withstand the current global economic slowdown that is affecting major airlines and we will continue to expand."

He said the company was exploring more economically viable routes in South America, Asia and Africa.

Some routes were under evaluation and were still subject to political confirmation, while the impact of fuel prices on the longer routes continues to be assessed.

Early this month Emirates SkyCargo launched six direct Guangzhou-Dubai flights a week to tap into the increasing cargo volumes on the route. The service will provide Chinese shippers with an additional 80-plus tonnes of weekly belly-hold cargo capacity in each direction.

Emirates Skycargo offers nearly 3,000 tonnes of bellyhold and freighter cargo capacity a week through its double daily services to Beijing and Shanghai and 11 weekly flights to Hong Kong.

The company also operates eight dedicated freighter services to Shanghai and 15 to Hong Kong.

With only one stop at its 1.2 million-tonne-capacity, state-of-the-art Cargo Mega Terminal in Dubai, Emirates SkyCargo can connect cargo with more than 100 cities on six continents through its expanding flight and trucking network.

Asia, and China in particular, is a key market for the company. More than 40 per cent of its revenues comes from East Asia and Australasia through the transportation of mainly IT products, mobile phones, textiles and electrical goods.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, trade between China and the UAE in the last financial year hit Dh73.3 billion – a 41 per cent year-on-year increase.

Between January and April this year exports and imports between China and the UAE reached a record Dh20.8bn and Dh5.6bn respectively – increases of 30 per cent and 92 per cent.