São Paulo – The Arab importers currently attending the business matchmaking rounds which started this Tuesday (10th) at the offices of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, in São Paulo, are looking for new suppliers of foodstuffs in Brazil. They represent enterprises which already import poultry, beef, fruit and vegetable from the country and want to diversify their sources.
To achieve its goal, the EMKE Group will even set up an office in São Paulo. “It will be a sourcing office to seek suppliers of food and other products, especially leather and garments, as well as fruit and vegetables for the Gulf market,” says Narayanan Raman, the company’s national manager. Coffee and sweets are other interests of the group, which is based in the United Arab Emirates and owns 104 hypermarkets throughout the Middle East, under the name Lulu.
“Demand is increasing in our retail market so we want a direct channel with Brazilian exporters. We want to find the right product for the right market,” says Raman. The Brazilian office is expected to open after Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims, which ends on August 18th this year.
The leading poultry importer and food distributing company in the United Arab Emirates, Federal Foods is looking for new suppliers of beef in Brazil, so as to increase its market share in the Emirates. “We are already familiar with JBS, Marfrig and Mataboi, but there are opportunities for us to do business with other beef companies,” says Rehan Yaqoob, the company’s director for wholesale. In addition to poultry and beef, the company is also interested in buying dairy products and oils.
One of the enterprises interested in selling to Federal Foods is the São Paulo-based trading company Globe Brazil Export. “The advantage of working with us is that we carry out a full market analysis for clients, opening up a range of suppliers. This is in their best interest. They work with major players, therefore it is important for them to have other suppliers to give them different purchase options. We are able to make negotiations shorter, to the point, and transparent,” says Alexandre Sarwat Zayed, the trading company’s director, regarding his talks with the Arab group.
Globe focuses on foodstuffs and deals in beef, poultry, eggs, tuna, sardine, coffee, and rice. In the Arab world, the company already sells to Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, the Emirates, Jordan. Iraq, and Bahrain
The two-year old coffee company Café Fazenda Caeté wants to enter the Arab market with an exclusive product. “Our product is one-of-a-kind in the world, we hold the patent on it. It is a ground and roasted coffee, only it is an infusion, like a tea. The paper itself filters the coffee. It’s a fast coffee for people who live alone, who need to be practical, and it boasts the quality of a ground and roasted coffee produced in the south of [the state of] Minas,” says commercial director Fernando Costa.
According to Costa, the product has been attracting great interest from buyers. “We’ve combined technology and this infusion method to create a coffee to oppose soluble coffees. We are offering an alternative that has quality, flavour, and much more aroma.”
The Emirati group Barakat International, which imports fruit, vegetables, and beef from Brazil, is checking out different products offered by Brazilian companies. “We are expanding our activities in the Middle East. We want to expand our relations with Brazil to include all of the products available here that have not conquered the Emirati market yet,” says Suresh Sivaraman, the company’s account manager.
The São Paulo-based trading company Energy, which exports sugar, one of the top export products from Brazil to the Arabs, already sells to all of the Arab countries, and has come to the matchmaking rounds looking for new deals.
“We have offices in the United States, Netherlands, Dubai, and Sri Lanka. We opened our office in Dubai late last year to strengthen our presence there by stocking up product and serving clients better. We know most of the buyers attending the matchmaking rounds, and I think bringing them here to make contact easier was a great idea,” says Pedro Côrtes, the president of Energy. The trading company also deals in rice, pepper, and maize derivatives.
The matchmaking rounds organized by the Arab Brazilian Chamber in partnership with the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency will continue until Wednesday (11th).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
