Dubai – The Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex) should open an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to grant support to companies in Brazil seeking business in the Arab nation. The information was disclosed on Tuesday (25) to Brazilians businessmen participating in Gulfood, a fair in the food sector that takes place in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
According to the director of the Apex centre in Dubai, Sidney Costa, the office will have a local employee and should operate in the same moulds as the structure the organisation has in Doha, Qatar. "We consider the region one of the most important for companies,” he pointed out.
According to him, the priority sectors for the agency’s operation in Saudi are food and housing and construction, but companies in other sectors may use the services. Inauguration is scheduled to take place in March.
At the fair, exhibitors are enthused with the movement. “It is not bad, the day started rather slow, but many people came later,” said Ed Guzi, from Samba International, a company that trades popcorn, maize flour, beans and coffee from Brazil.
He said that popcorn, especially, is popular among the visitors. "The product is high quality and our price is competitive when compared with that from Argentina,” he said. The main competitors in the area, according to Guzi, are Argentina and the United States, but in the case of the United States, the product is more expensive and the country is also an importer.
Samba integrated the trade mission to the Middle East that last week, organized by the Apex and with the support of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. "The timing was perfect," said the businessman.
Harald, of chocolate, is another company that is exhibiting at the fair and participated in the mission. The company’s Foreign Trade manager, José Ricardo Cicone, said he closed deals with distributors in the Emirates and Qatar and that an agreement was about to be confirmed with Saudi Arabia.
In the same line, Sérgio Nunes, from Amazônia Energy, which sells assai ready for consumption, informed that the company is making good contacts that may become deals.
Also at the fair is Exporta Minas, the export promotion agency of the government of Minas Gerais. The organisation has an agreement with the Brazilian Fruit Institute (Ibraf) to provide incentives for Brazilian fruit sales. The director at the organisation, Ivan Barbosa Netto, explained that last year the institution organised a programme for trade promotion focussing on Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Dubai, with World Bank resources. The project includes the areas of food and beverages, biotechnology and cosmetics.
*Translated by Mark Ament
