São Paulo – Tunisian executives who visited Expodireto Cotrijal, in the city of Não-Me-Toque, state of Rio Grande do Sul, from March 4 to 8, believe they will close deals with Brazil soon. At the agribusiness industry fair, they engaged in matchmaking rounds with dairy, meats, herbs, and rice producers. They also visited agricultural machinery manufacturing plants and negotiated societies with Brazilian companies.
The manager for partnerships at Sopat, Khaled Smach came to Brazil seeking partners to increase meat distribution in Tunisia and other countries in North Africa. “We are strong in poultry production, but not in beef. We need to be more competitive,” she said. The company posts US$ 45 million in annual revenues and intends to reach US$ 75 million.
She is betting on poultry and beef sales, and is seeking partners in order to accomplish that. "Beef is the second most consumed meat variety in the country, after poultry. We want to sell more, but right now we buy from Europe and we are not competitive,” he said. “We want a supplier who will warrant us increased competitiveness and production scale.” Smach negotiated with several Brazilian companies, and believes that she will soon find the ideal partner for the deal. “We need it right away,” she said.
The technical director of the Loukil group, Kamel Jebali was in Brazil looking for suppliers of agricultural machinery, especially sowers. Aside from visiting booths and taking part in matchmaking rounds at the fair, Jebali went to three agricultural machinery factories in Rio Grande do Sul: Stara, Grazmec and Kuhn. He approved the product quality, but complained about the pricing. Still, he does not rule out the possibility of importing machinery from Brazil.
“The product quality is very good. The local product is more expensive than the ones we buy, but the businessmen are open to negotiation. We may strike some deals in the future,” he said. In addition to the two Tunisian companies, Federal Foods, based in the United Arab Emirates and controlled by Brasil Foods, sent a representative to Expodireto Cotrijal.
The Arab importers who attended the fair travelled by invitation of the organizers.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
