São Paulo – At least one hundred Brazilian companies will take part as exhibitors of Gulfood 2018, the most important trade expo of the food industry in the Middle East. The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce will have a stand in the 23th edition of the event, which will be held from Sunday (18) to Wednesday (22) at the Dubai World Trade Centre, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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This year, Gulfood will have an exhibition area of over 90,000 square meters to receive over 5,000 exhibitors. According to the organization, there will be 120 national pavilions and they’re expecting over 97,000 visitors from 185 countries during the event’s five days, between buyers, exhibitors and people from the food and beverages industry.
“Year after year the number of participating Brazilian companies increase. This shows that to exhibit at Gulfood generates results,” said Rubens Hannun, president of the Arab Chamber. He pointed out that food and beverages is the main exporting market for Brazil in the Arab countries, and that Gulfood has been the most enticing expo in the region for Brazilian companies.
The stand of the Arab Chamber, which’s been attending the event for more than ten years, will host the following companies: Brumau/Ostimato, of vegetable oils and grains, such as peanuts; FIB Halal, a halal certification company; Nutrire, of animal feed; and O Primo Logistics, of logistic services.
“The Arab Chamber will be at Gulfood with a significant structure, ready to give support to its members,” said the president, declaring that the stand is open to the members in need of the organization’s support.
Hannun mentioned that, after the expo, the Arab Chamber will organize, from February 22 to 25 and with the support of Yas Mall, in Abu Dhabi, the Brazilian Festival, with the exhibition of products and typical Brazilian cultural attractions. “We invite everyone participating in Gulfood to visit the Brazilian Festival. The UAE will have a Brazilian moment, with the fair and the festival,” he said.
Business expectations
The whole chain of food and processed beverages, sweets, grains, coffees, animal protein, among other sectors, will have a Brazilian representative at Gulfood 2018. The Brazilian pavilion, organized by the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), will have an area of 1,200 square meters, with two mezzanines.
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“Eight companies will offer product tastings,” said Cristiano Braga, exporting manager of Apex-Brasil. “These are companies that have never exported and went through the agency’s qualification program,” he explained.
Braga’s expectation is for sales done during and after Gulfood to generate around USD 1.2 billion this year. Last year, the expo generated USD 1.1 billion to the a little over 90 Brazilian companies that travelled with Apex-Brasil.
Attractive market
For Braga, the growing interest of Brazilian companies in participate in an expo such as Gulfood shows the business potential that the event represents. “Gulfood is visited by buyers from the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. Dubai ends up being an important distribution channel to these regions,” he said.
The Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA) will have its own space at the expo, with sixteen agribusiness companies occupying a 150 square meters area, with tasting of products such as the shawarma, traditional dish among the Arabs, and omelet. “As the world’s largest producer and exporters of halal poultry, Brazil wants to renew and expand its partnerships with Middle East importers and authorities,” said Francisco Turra, the association’s president, in a statement.
The poultry exporters will also participate in business matchmaking and will meet with the region’s authorities and consumer association. According to Turra, the Arabs are the main buyers of Brazilian poultry.
Quick info
Gulfood
From February 18 to 22
Where: Dubai World Trade Centre
Information: https://www.gulfood.com/
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani