São Paulo – Producers and delegates from companies in Morocco and Tunisia looking to sell their products in Brazil are attending the São Paulo Supermarkets Association fair (Apas) this week. The event opened this Monday (4th) and will continue until Thursday (7th) at São Paulo’s Expo Center Norte. Four Tunisian companies and a Moroccan one, representing five other organizations, are featured at the stand organized by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
One Tunisian olive oil company, Al Jazira, has its own stand. It has recently won a prize for best bottled olive oil in Tunisia, awarded by the Ministry of Industry.
The commercial manager for South America at Tunis’ Midcom International, Kamel Fhoula has brought olive oils, olives and dates. “This is our second year here at Apas, in a bigger area with more companies. The Brazilian market is interesting and we must invest in it. This is why we returned after 2014. This is a new market for us, and it’s not easy. Brazilians are loyal to the brands they know, but we need to be able to show our product. I believe we could ship two to five containers a year to Brazil,” he said.
The general manager for Carthagenna International Trading, also from Tunis, Ines Ben Ghorbal brought products that are not available on the Brazilian market yet, like a cocoa-based morning cereal that is made only in Tunisia. Pastas and couscous made in the North African country are also in the portfolio of the company, which is attending the fair for the first time.
“We started out by exporting to European countries like Belgium and France and now we also sell to Morocco. We are working to export more, and we believe in the Brazilian market’s potential. The products we work with have good quality and good pricing. They are competitive,” Ghorbal said.
The co-founder and local representative of Morocco’s Global Olives, Karim Sebti represents manufacturers of olive oil, olives, argan oil for cosmetics manufacturing, and honey. “There is a demand for business between Brazil and Morocco to grow. Here at the expo I hope to gain better knowledge of the industry, to keep in touch with the major wholesalers, and to see how the food gets distributed. Ours is a high value-added product, and we want to use it to develop the Morocco brand,” he said.
Tunisian promotion
Representatives of the Tunisian government are also in Brazil this week. At Apas, the deputy general manager of the Center for Export Promotion (Cepex, in the French acronym), Riadh Attia, said that the North African country has in place a policy of diversifying exports destinations. He noted that the country exports 70% of its products to Europe, but is betting on business with Brazil due to the good relations between the two nations. Attia pointed out, however, that the Tunisians products still need to gain visibility here.
“We brought companies last year and now we have a bigger share. We want to conquer market share here, we know that olive oil sales are increasing and that there are opportunities. On the other hand, there are great opportunities to invest in Tunisia, which offers access to Africa and can be an important partner to investors”, declared the Cepex executive.
The Arab Chamber Foreign Trade vice president and honorary consul of Tunisia in São Paulo, Rubens Hannun, said that businessmen and representatives of the Tunisian government seek to expand business with Brazil in a moment of recovery of the business council Brazil-Tunisia, which was created in 2002. “They are inclined [to export and import] and Brazil is a strategic country. This relationship has room to grow because the Tunisians have great products. But this effort needs to have continuity”, he pointed out.
Service
Apas Fair
Expo Center Norte, Rua José Bernardo Pinto, 333, Vila Guilherme, São Paulo – SP
Tuesday (5th) and Wednesday (6th), from 2 PM to 10 PM; Thursday (7th), from 2 PM to 8 PM
Further information: http://feiraapas.com.br/
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum and Sérgio Kakitani
