São Paulo – Arab companies are already aware of the size of the food market in Brazil and are searching for room to place their products. Brands from five Arab countries are participating as exhibitors in Apas Show, which opened this Tuesday (2) at Expo Center Norte in the city of São Paulo and is organized by the São Paulo Supermarkets Association (Apas). They are using a space that is run by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
Among the exhibiting companies there are those that just started selling in Brazil, others that sold in the past and want to resume exporting and others still that are taking part in the trade show to reach the market or to get to know it better. “There are companies that brought their products, but mainly there are companies interested in getting to know the market,” said the Arab Chamber’s president, Rubens Hannun, after getting in contact with some of them.
The president of the Arab Chamber believes this move to be very positive since it means that these companies are looking ahead to the future. Hannun points out that Brazil has an extremely important food market and that despite being a food producer, there are goods from the Arab world available at Apas that aren’t produced in Brazil.
And some companies are focusing exactly on this fact. The United Arab Emirates is one of the countries taking part in the trade show, a participation organized by Dubai Export, the export promotion body of Dubai and the UAE. “These are unique products,” said Dubai Export’s manager of Exports Development in Brazil, Bruno Bassi, about the dates being presented here, due to their quality, size and softness, features typical of the dates produced in the Gulf.
Dubai Export has brought dates and chocodates, nuts and cashew nuts, camel milk and its products, including ice cream, chocolate, soaps, snacks, olive oil, pistachio, packaging and cream powder. Also on offer are exotic items such as pistachio- and chocolate-filled cheeses and other delicacies. Bassi claims product prices are competitive, especially due to the logistical advantages that the UAE enjoys.
International Market Development manager Mohammed Younis Jamal AlSayed notes that this is Dubai Export’s second time at Apas, and that he expects to be even more successful this year. The organization is representing 25 companies at the fair, and two products are already being sold in Brazil: cookies and chocodates.
The Qatar Development Bank (QDB) is also featured in the stand organized by the Arab Chamber at Apas. Personnel with the QDB’s exports incentive department are here to have a closer look at the Brazilian market. They hope to find out what companies and products it can offer in a roadshow slated for the third quarter of this year in Brazil. QDB exports promotion manager Ayedh Hassan Al Qahtani claims he has sensed the market’s size from the amount of countries and companies featured in the fair.
While being known worldwide for its gas and oil production, Qatar does produce other items, including food. Non-oil exports from the country went from USD 500 million in 2011 to USD 2.4 billion in 2016, according to Qahtani. Items sold include plastics, food products, electrical, chemical, and pharmaceutical items, aluminum products, etc.
A large number of Moroccan companies are featured in Apas. Sicopa carries items including olives, capers, pepper and roasted vegetables. The brands Tria, Dari, Dalia, and Itkane are offering couscous. Also available is olive oil by Kalea, a brand owned by company Lesieur Cristal, as well as olive oil, tomato paste, pepper, and marmalade from Aicha. “This is an important market. Morocco is well regarded in Brazil, and the items we have brought are widely appealing,” said Mehdi Larhrib, director of Morocco’s Food Exports Control and Coordination Organization (EACCE), which is organizing national participation. He said the products on offer are high-quality export items.
From Egypt, Special Foods is looking to increase its sales to Brazil, which began recently. The company sells items such as olives and olive, vegetable mix, pepper, and onion preserves. It is represented by RTrade, a Brazilian export-import company, and sales began early this year. Items are sold in bulk for the food services market, explains Special Foods Marketing manager Dina Shehata, alongside RTrade’s foreign trade assistant Rafaela Pimentel. Special Foods is an exports-only outfit.
The Egyptian Establishment for International Trading is showcasing its products for the first time in Brazil at Apas. Director Sameh Zaki got in touch with Arab Brazilian Chamber C-level executives early this year in his country. He got wind of the size of Latin America’s market and decided to take the opportunity to be at the fair. His company intends to sell spices, herbs, and dates. It did sell product to Brazil a few years back, via an export-/import company in the United States.
Hailing from Tunisia, Midcom International is at Apas to make a new attempt to sell to Brazil. It exports items including couscous, dates, olive oil, pepper, pepper paste and sauces. Trade manager for South America Kamel Fhoula explains that he has sold couscous and dates to Brazil in the past. This is the company’s third time at Apas. “We still believe in this market,” he asserts, adding that since he has invested a lot, he still hopes to sell to Brazil.
Also from Tunisia, olive oil brand Baya is showcasing its products in Brazil for the first time at Apas. It ships product to Canada and to several Arab countries. Sales and marketing manager Marwa Maazoun explains that the company offers olive oil in different types of plastic, metal, and glass bottles. Maazaoun claims she knows there’s work to be done, besides selling the product, which is making Tunisian olive oil known in Brazil, which it isn’t yet.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani & Gabriel Pomerancblum