SAO PAULO, May 14 (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc ( UBER ) and

iFood, a Brazilian food delivery app, on Wednesday announced a

strategic partnership in Brazil, where delivery and ride-hailing

services have grown rapidly in recent years.

Under the collaboration, iFood users will be able to

book Uber ( UBER ) rides directly from the iFood app, while Uber ( UBER ) users

will gain access to iFood's food, grocery, pharmacy and

convenience delivery services within the Uber ( UBER ) app. The new tabs

are scheduled to launch in the second half of the year,

according to the companies.

"Today, only around half of iFood and Uber ( UBER ) customers in

Brazil use both platforms. So this partnership represents

another big milestone in our mission to help people go anywhere

and get anything at the tap of a button," Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO

of Uber ( UBER ), said in a statement.

The partnership comes three years after Uber Eats, Uber's ( UBER )

food delivery app, left the Brazil market after struggling to

pierce iFood's dominance.

Uber ( UBER ), which has been in Brazil since 2014, has

approximately 30 million active users and a network of more than

1.4 million registered drivers and couriers in the country.

Uber ( UBER ), founded in 2010, has completed more than 61 billion trips

globally and around 11 billion in Brazil.

iFood, which holds a dominant position in Brazil's online

food delivery market, has reported 55 million active users and a

network of 360,000 couriers. It processes over 120 million

orders per month, in approximately 1,500 cities across Brazil.

"This partnership represents a major step forward, with both

companies innovating together to offer a new way to access

everyday services," said Diego Barreto, CEO of iFood, in a

statement.

The partnership comes just days after Meituan, China's

largest food delivery platform, said it would invest 5 billion

reais ($890 million) to enter the Brazilian market, according to

ApexBrasil, the government's trade and investment agency. The

Chinese firm will operate in the local market under its Keeta

brand.