São Paulo – The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) office in Itajaí, Santa Catarina, became three years old this Monday (24). The organization’s first headquarters outside São Paulo was created to expand its operations and serve companies in the region that trade with the Arab countries more quickly and at a lower cost. Since its opening, the office has established itself as an essential branch of the entity. Pictured above, the building where the branch is located.
According to Tamer Mansour, secretary-general and CEO of the ABCC, the office works to bring the entity closer to companies that use the southern region of Brazil, especially the Santa Catarina ports of Itajaí and Navegantes, for their exports, in addition to facilitating the issuance of documentation and reducing costs and bureaucracy involved in the process. “We had a clear idea of the need to set up a strong commercial operation in Itajaí to identify new opportunities and companies that can export their goods to the Arab countries,” he said.
The sales executive at the Itajaí office, Ana Nassar, says that the office mainly serves plants that process and export bovine and chicken protein, and the general food, timber, textiles, and cosmetics sectors, among others. These products are exported through the three ports in the region, Itajaí, Navegantes, and Itapoá. The leading Arab destinations for goods leaving Santa Catarina ports are the UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
In addition to certifying documents required for exports to the Arab countries and issuing the certification of origin, the office provides other ABCC services to associates in the region. The entity uses various means, ranging from promoting participation in shows to providing market information so Brazilian companies can expand their business in the Arab market, and the Arab companies can do the same in Brazil. The ABCC’s international office in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, is a vital instrument in this regard. “That is the idea, that every day we can make the shortest route between Brazil and the Arab countries,” stated Nassar.
After three years, the secretary-general assesses the results of the branch. “We have had very pleasing results in terms of expanding our network of contacts with companies and gaining new clients, but now we feel the need to expand the activities of the office, so we are working this year for our commercial department to start covering the entire state of Santa Catarina and not just its southern part. We also glimpse the possibility of reducing bureaucracy every day through technologies, electronic stamping from embassies, among other things. Still, our main goal for 2021 is to expand our contact networks with other institutional entities within the state of Santa Catarina,” she said.
The president at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Osmar Chohfi, declared that the office brought positive results for the organization, not only for the region of Itajaí but also for all business people in Brazil who want to trade with the Arab world. “Our office has had impressive results; I know there has been a 226% growth in our activities,” said Chohfi in an announcement for the date on social media. The 226% growth occurred in the office’s certification of export documents from its early days until today.
Contact:
Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce office in Itajaí
Commercial department: anassar@ccab.org.br
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
