São Paulo – The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce promoted on Wednesday (08), in São Paulo, a meeting with some 20 businessmen to present the services it offers and collect suggestions for event calendar next year. The event counted on the participation of the food, furniture and electric and building material sectors, among others.
"The Chamber is a facilitator of business,” said Janaina Calonga, commercial manager at the organisation. “It is going to simplify your entry into the 22 countries of the League of Arab States and is going to help you do business with information, contact chain and actions and promotion,” she said, to the audience.
During the meeting, Calonga presented over 15 options of fairs in countries in the Middle East and North Africa that have international projection and attract visitors from all regions. Some, like the Gulfood (food) and Big 5 (building) already have guaranteed participation by Brazilian companies in partnership with the Arab Brazilian Chamber.
"The best business our company has ever done in Africa was a result of the Big 5, as it does not cater just to the Middle East, but also to Africa,” said Damaris Costa, trading director at Braseco, one of the participants at the event. The meeting was promoted in an interactive manner, with businessmen commenting the events in which they have already participated and about those in which they are not interested.
Among the opportunities of fairs in the Arab world are Project Lebanon (building), Arab Health (United Arab Emirates, medical products), Beautyworld Middle East (Emirates, cosmetics), Index (Emirates, furniture), Khartoum International Fair (Sudan, several sectors), Djazagro (Algeria, agricultural and food products) and others.
"Fair (Djazagro) is one of the most important gateways not just to Algeria, but also to Tunisia, Morocco and Libya,” said José Farhat, director at Pankommerz Representação Comercial.
Rodrigo Solano, the Business and Market manager at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, stated that the Arab countries should grow between 4% and 5% in coming years. According to the executive, for those interested in having a company in the Arab world, there is not as much bureaucracy as in Brazil. "The Arab countries stand out in terms of ease for the opening of a business, especially Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Qatar.”
Solano showed that Brazil still represents a very small share of trade between the Arab countries and the world. Of the US$ 570.22 billion imported by the Arab countries in 2011, Brazil participated with just 2.6%. "There is an enormous market to be explored,” he pointed out.
The CEO at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Michel Alaby, stated that the event on Wednesday was the first of several and placed the organisation at the disposal of businessmen. "Count on the Chamber for whatever may be necessary, trade actions, imports and exports, whatever may be necessary,” he said.
The Arab Brazilian Chamber
The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce was established 60 years ago with the objective of promoting relations between Brazil and the Arab nations. The organisation is the only one in Brazil that is a member of the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Arab Countries.
The institution offers services like document certification, assistance for participation in fairs in the Arab world, promotion of business roundtables and translation, among others. Headquartered in the city of São Paulo, the Arab Brazilian Chamber serves companies throughout Brazil.
*Translated by Mark Ament
