São Paulo – The ambassador of Brazil to the UAE, Fernando Igreja, paid a visit to the Hamwi Co. manufacturing plant in Dubai on Sunday (8). The business conglomerate owns several coffee brands, and it offers items including coffee beans, instant coffee, roast and ground coffee, espresso, Turkish coffee, coffee-based cold drinks.
The ambassador was accompanied by Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) Dubai international office head Rafael Solimeo, the managing director Dubai Industrial City, where the plant is located, Saud Abu Al Shawareb, and Dubai Exports specialist Zilda Rosa. They were welcomed by board chairman Bilal Al Hamwi. Pictured above from left to right are Hamwi, Al Shawareb, Igreja and Solimeo.
The ambassador told ANBA that 70% of the coffee imported to the plant is sourced from Brazil, and that this was the main reason for his visit. “The owner is planning a trip to Brazil next year to diversify his suppliers. I suggested he go to Minas Gerais, which is coming up as a specialty coffee producing state. He’s also considering setting up a plant in Brazil,” Igreja revealed. The coffee sourced from Brazil ships out from the Port of Santos.
Igreja also said 10% of the plant’s output sells domestically in the UAE, and 90% ships to the Gulf, Europe and Australia. “My visit serves the broader purpose of spreading awareness of Brazilian coffee in the UAE,” he said.
According to Rafael Solimeo, Hamwi is looking to purchase more coffee from Brazil, as well as to supply Brazil with items such as Turkish coffee, also known as Arab coffee – which is made with cardamom – and coffee-based cold drinks.
“The ambassador’s visit was really important to enhancing the Arab company’s relationship with Brazil,” said Solimeo. He also said that during the visit, they were able to see each step of processing, from the raw beans to the roasting, milling, and blending, all the way to the finished product. Hamwi is in the process of becoming an ABCC member company.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
