São Paulo – The need to identify a business’ stage of maturity before it even attempts to export was discussed by Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce executives on Wednesday (24) in the lecture “Opportunities to export to Arab countries.” The online conference was hosted in partnership with Programa de Qualificação para Exportação (Peiex), a Sorocaba, São Paulo-based export training program offered by the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) to help companies embark in the process of becoming exporters in a planned-out, safe way.
The speakers in the lecture were Arab Chamber Commercial manager Daniela Leite (pictured above), International Business consultant Karen Mizuta, and Market Intelligence coordinator Marcus Vinícius.
Leite said determining how far along in the journey to internationalization a business is in is key to outlining a good action plan. With this information available, advisory can be tailored to ensure a brand will be prepared going into a new market. “The Arab Chamber represents 22 Arab countries. Our job is to support them with a strategy of where to begin and how to begin. We will conduct a preliminary market survey and then we will work together to find opportunities,” she said.
Mizuta explained that the Arab Chamber’s International Consulting area was put in place to assist with each step of internationalization. Its purpose is to empower businesses with efficient, specialist advisory, “to enable your product to sell on the Arab market,” she said.
Top-selling products from Brazil to Arab countries include soy, poultry and beef. Regarding this, Vinícius pointed out that attention must be paid to the specific requirements in place for animal-based products. “All products containing poultry or beef must be certified halal, which is an attestation that these products comply with Muslim rules and customs. This is mandatory both for the meats themselves and for processed products which contain some meat-based ingredient, such as gelatin for instance,” he explained.
Vinícius also said another option is for brands to get into free zones, which enjoy strong incentives in Arab countries. This is another decision which entails prior analysis to assess the stage the would-be exporter is at.
“When it comes to small businesses, first you must figure out how those markets are regulated. As Marcus said, animal-based products, or products containing animal-based items, require halal certification. And what we do is we seek out information, including packaging requirements and how to adapt to the demands of each market,” explained Mizuta.
For more mature companies regarding international markets, feasibility studies include other steps, including setting up manufacturing plants abroad. “In this case we need to figure out what the best location is – Saudi Arabia or Egypt, for example. We need to work with technical and tax-related information to help the company build its business plan and make its way into the market in the safest way possible,” she said.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
