São Paulo – Brazilian company Arbaza, which joined the Anuga expo at a stand organized by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, struck sales deals for beans, popcorn and sesame. For the first time, the Arab Chamber had its own space at the world’s biggest food industry show, in a bid to provide a meeting spot for Arabs and Brazilians. Anuga takes place in Germany, and this year’s edition wrapped up this Wednesday (9).
Arbaza International Relations manager Eduardo Balestreri says that being an exhibitor at the Arab Chamber area helped the company achieve its goal of getting in touch and reaching deals with Arab clients. The company both completed sales that had been ongoing and found new clients. The deals were made with importers from across the Middle East, especially Egypt.
“We’d been planning for Arbaza to exhibit at Anuga for a long time. It’s different when you’re in a stand. You get more brand recall, clients treat you differently,” Balestreri told ANBA. The company has been to three past editions as a visitor. Besides Balestreri, Arbaza was represented by its International Trade manager Euclides Cezar Trevisan Pereira.
An Arab Chamber member company, Arbaza is one the leading pulse exporters in
Brazil. It exports beans, lentil, sesame and popcorn, and imports beans. It also sells product domestically. Based in Caibi, Santa Catarina, it owns four units in other states. When it comes to Arab countries, Arbaza has done business with the UAE, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Yemen and Tunisia.
“Our products are well received in the Arab market due to their quality and the pricing, which is competitive more often than not,” says Balestreri. Sales to Arab markets are highly dependent on the importing country’s crops. According to him, whenever an Arab country finds itself needing product, it will seek out Brazil instead of other countries, unlike a few years ago.
For the Arab Chamber, being at Anuga was a positive thing. Marketing and Strategy director Janine Bezerra de Menezes claims that the organization’s stand had lots of visits by Arabs looking to import from Brazil and Brazilians looking to export to Arab countries. Some visitors were also interested in making investments.
Janine says the Arab Chamber achieved its goal of being a go-to location and connecting Arabs and Brazilians. “We’re very pleased as we leave Anuga. It really is a very big fair, with a very high number of fairgoers and exhibitors,” she told ANBA a few hours before the show ended. Janine was joined at Anuga by Arab Chamber Events coordinator Tâmara Machado.
The Arab Chamber’s stand was inspired by Arab architecture, featuring arabesques, porticoes and light-toned cutout wood. This visual identity was first featured at the Apas Show 2019, a supermarket industry show, where it won a Best International Stand. The stand was designed by Wiyn Comunicação e Design, modeling a Saudi Arabian university.
Over 100 Brazilian companies were present at a space organized by the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil). Other Brazilian exhibitors joined the expo on their own or via industry organizations. Brazil’s Agriculture, Livestock and Supply minister Tereza Cristina attended the show’s opening and visited the Arab Chamber stand.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
