São Paulo – The Brazilian Embassy in Algiers is calling Brazilian companies to exhibit at Sipsa & Filaha – Agrofood, the biggest agri-food show in Africa, to take place from May 22 to 25 this year at the Safex Exhibition Center in the Algerian capital. The embassy will have a 50-square-meter space in the exhibition and is looking for companies and entities to exhibit and collaborate in the booth assembly.
The Arab country is experiencing a new phase of more significant opening to imports, which could be an opportunity for Brazilian food exporting companies. The Brazilian ambassador to Algiers, Flavio Marega, believes the time is ripe to make contacts in the country. “It is a good time for Brazilian exporters to come and live this new moment in Algeria,” the diplomat said in an interview with ANBA.
Algeria has a policy of encouraging domestic production and usually allows imports in some segments, usually essential products, and inputs, or in the face of supply gaps. With high prices, shortages of some goods, and the need to increase stocks, however, it has been giving greater flexibility to foreign trade into the country to increase the availability of products and lower prices for the population.
Marega reported this year Algeria imported 10,000 standing cattle from Brazil. “I think it opened an important path,” he said. The diplomat believes Algeria could also open its poultry and beef market to Brazil. The country used to import Brazilian beef but closed the market in mid-2020 to Brazil, Spain, and India to boost local production in the segment.
The ambassador sees good prospects not only for Brazilian beef exporters but also local demand for many Brazilian products. He said in the 2022 edition of Sipsa & Filaha – Agrofood, the embassy participated in the show with a small institutional booth due to the pandemic. There was a sizeable influx of agribusiness importers, and 200 consultations were received from these professionals. “This led us to propose this year again to [the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs], and we received the approval,” he says.
Products on demand
In the 2022 edition of the show, Algerians expressed interest in doing business with Brazilians in agricultural equipment, maize, soybeans, livestock, animal feed, seeds, and equipment geared to animal feed production, according to the Trade Promotion Sector of the Embassy of Brazil in Algiers. Marega also sees a prospective market in Algeria for peanuts, specialty coffees, and dairy products.
“There is this government policy of increasing the production of animal feed (forage) here in Algeria, so much so, this year, for Ramadan, they imported 10,000 cattle from Brazil to fatten here. This area of seeds has an extensive demand to bring seeds from Brazil and improve the quality of forages here,” he said. Ramadan is a sacred period of Islam in which Muslims fast during the day and make hearty and collective meals after the sun sets, increasing the demand for food in Muslim countries such as Algeria.
Brazil: Supplier
Brazil is already a major food supplier to Algeria. The five products most exported by the South American country to the North African in 2022 were sugar and molasses, followed by soybeans, maize, vegetable oils, and iron ore. Exports revenue totaled USD 1.9 billion, up 26.3% over the previous year, according to data from the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade.
The participation of Brazilian companies in the stand organized by the Embassy of Brazil in Algiers is free of charge. The Brazilian Association of Specialty Coffees (BSCA) has already confirmed participation in Sipsa & Filaha – Agrofood. The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) will provide institutional support. Other Brazilian government areas were consulted and are expected too, although confirmations are still pending since the Brazilian participation was agreed upon recently. Companies and industry associations interested in exhibiting at the Algerian show must contact the embassy via email at secom.argel@itamaraty.gov.br or phone at +213 23 052817.
Quick facts:
Sispa & Filaha – Agrofood
Agrofood show
May 22 to 25, 2023
Safex Exhibition Center
Algiers, Algeria
Website, email: sipsa@sipsa-filaha.com
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
