São Paulo – Cosmetics exports from Brazil to Arab countries increased in 2015 from 2014. According to numbers from the overseas promotion project Beautycare Brazil, revenues from sales to Arab countries exceeded USD 5 million. In 2014, Beautycare Brazil companies had grossed USD 4.3 million from those sales. The project is a partnership between the Brazilian Cosmetics, Toiletry and Fragrance industry Association (Abihpec) and the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agnecy (Apex-Brasil).
Last year, the project’s exporting companies grossed USD 162.6 million from sales to 97 different countries. Arab nations accounted for 3.3% of total sales. In 2014, sales had reached USD 183.2 million, 2.5% of which had gone to Arab countries.
In the Middle East and North Africa, the United Arab Emirates was the biggest buyer last year with a 40% share. The country is one of the project’s targets, and it hosts the exhibition Beautyworld Middle East. This year, the event will run from May 15th to 17th with 23 participating Brazilian companies. Besides finding local buyers, the event is a chance to reach clients in other countries. Besides the UAE, the companies in Beautycare Brazil are selling to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq and Bahrain.
“Arab countries account for a small share of sales, but that is changing. Besides, the quality of [Brazilian] products is one of a kind and the Brazilian hair products industry is a trendsetter. We have a lot of diversity here, so this is where the products get developed,” said Beautycare Brazil project manager Gueisa Silvério. Fragrances, sunscreen and makeup are adding to sales, but the flagship is hair products, she says. The bulk of Brazilian sales goes to countries in Latin America.
The executive claims that as the dollar gains on Brazil’s real and the domestic economy struggles, the number of enterprises looking to export via the Beautycare project increases. Silvério notes that there are challenges as well as opportunities. Besides the process of going global, companies in this industry often find they must adapt their product to the market that’s buying. Some Arab countries do not accept products containing alcohol. A sale can take a year to happen, because the products need approval from the importing country’s government.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
