By Luciana Magalhaes

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Uber Technologies Inc 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 rides directly from the iFood app, while Uber users will gain access to iFood’s food, grocery, pharmacy and convenience delivery services within the 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 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, said in a statement.

The partnership comes three years after Uber Eats, Uber's food delivery app, left the Brazil market after struggling to pierce iFood's dominance.

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, 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.

(Reporting by Luciana Magalhaes; editing by Manuela Andreoni and Leslie Adler)

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