São Paulo – Arab companies exhibiting at the APAS Show supermarket trade fair are facing a more favorable exchange rate for Brazilian imports this year than at the 2025 edition of the event. So said Mohamad Orra Mourad, vice president of international relations and secretary-general of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), in an interview with ANBA.
At this 40th edition of APAS Show, the ABCC organized the participation of 21 Arab companies from Tunisia, Egypt and Syria, exhibiting products such as olive oils, dates and sweets. “This year, sales are expected to grow or at least maintain last year’s performance, most likely grow due to the weaker dollar. Dollar is now cheaper, making imported products more affordable for Brazilian consumers,” Mourad said.
The U.S. dollar exchange rate stood at BRL 4.92 in Brazil in the first half of May this year. In May 2025, when the 39th APAS Show took place, Brazil was seeing an average monthly exchange rate of BRL 5.67. A stronger dollar against the Brazilian real usually impacts sales of imported products in Brazil.
Also attending APAS Show, ABCC President William Adib Dib Jr. said expectations are high for the Arab participation at the trade fair. “It’s the first day of the event, but we can already feel from the energy here that it’ll be very positive,” he said. According to him, the area rented by the institution is larger this year.
Dib also believes the moment is favorable for Arab products to enter the Brazilian market, even in an election year in Brazil. “Arabs have been doing business with Brazil since the 1970s. We have had governments with different political leanings, but the country has always remained prosperous, and the economy has kept growing, so we believe it’s always a good time for Arab products,” he told ANBA.
Another ABCC official attending APAS Show, Financial Vice President Mohamad Abdouni Neto said the goal is to steadily increase the number of Arab companies exhibiting at the trade fair, boosting trade between Brazil and the Arab countries. Referring to a Syrian company that brought chocolates to the event, Abdouni noted that Brazil is a major market. “Brazil is an important market, and Arab countries are able to offer good products at competitive prices across several segments. We talk about olive oil and dates, but there are many other products that Arab countries are capable of offering,” Abdouni said.
In this regard, Mourad noted that Arab products such as pistachios, dates, olives and olive oil have already gained space in Brazilian retail, and that the current challenge is to expand this share and encourage end consumers to buy Arab products in greater volume and more frequently. Alongside Mourad, Abdouni and Dib, ABCC Marketing Vice President Silvia Antibas and board members Sami Roumieh and Claudia Yazigi Haddad also attended APAS Show on Monday.
The trade fair runs through next Thursday (21) at Expo Center Norte in São Paulo, with expectations of attracting 150,000 buyers. A total of 900 exhibitors from 24 countries are taking part in the event. Organizers expect the fair to generate BRL 17 billion (USD 3 billion) in business deals.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
