Alexandre Rocha*
São Paulo – More and more Brazilian producers of furniture are discovering the Middle East. Last week, three importers from the United Arab Emirates and Jordan travelled to Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil, where they visited 11 companies in the sector that do not yet export to the region and want to expand their business. The meetings generated US$ 50,000 in immediate orders to the companies and there are perspectives of sales of another US$ 200,000 in contracts over the next 12 months.
The contact was made possible by the Sebrae Export Móveis program, run by the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae), by the Brazilian Export Promotion Agency (Apex) and by the Rio Grande do Sul State Association of Furniture Industries (Movergs).
“The importers were very impressed with the quality of our products and the technology involved. They could not imagine that we had such advanced factories,” stated Ana Cristina Schneider, the program coordinator.
The companies visited were Erval, Politorno, Bomtempo, Pilate, Masotti, BRV, THB, Carraro, Móveis Manfroi, Móveis Chies and Mobitec, located in the cities of Bento Gonçalves, Camaquã, Dois Irmãos, Gramado and São Marcos. They produced a vast scope of furniture for sitting rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, offices, etc.
According to Ana Cristina, one of the Arab businessmen is a distributor who sells to the entire Arabian Gulf region and another two, apart from distributors, are also retailers. The Sebrae does not reveal the name of the importers. According to Ana Cristina, they operate in various market niches, which is a positive factor for the factories, as they produce from A-class furniture to more popular products. “And that is good as it is hard to find importers in this profile,” she declared.
In all, the spot orders made by the businessmen are going to fill five 40-foot containers. Ana Cristina stated that they are samples to test the acceptance in the Arab market.
According to her, the deals closed and the perspectives for future business surprised the producers from the southern Brazilian state, who were rather sceptical about the business possibilities due to the appreciation of the Brazilian real against the dollar.
The Arab businessmen visited Brazil invited by the Sebrae Export and the expenses, around US$ 14,000, were shared between the companies and the Apex. In all, 80 companies participated in the program. Last year, furniture factories in the state exported the equivalent to US$ 280 million.
*Translated by Mark Ament
