São Paulo – Registration is open for Gulfood, the Middle East’s leading food industry fair, taking place from February 21st to 25th, 2016 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. The Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), which organizes the participation of local companies in the event, is expecting to take 81 enterprises, and believes the event will lead to USD 659 million in deals for them.
“We have had more and more success in business as a result of our profiling of the companies. We have a spreadsheet with several criteria to select the best suited, best prepared companies to represent Brazil at the fair,” explained Rafael Prado, the Business Promotion coordinator at Apex-Brasil. The criteria include companies’ export revenues, whether or not they have a website in a foreign language and packaging adapted for the international market.
According to Prado, Apex-Brasil strives to take industry leaders to international exhibitions, but is increasingly embracing new players. Companies interested in having a stand in the Brazilian pavilion of the 2016 edition of Gulfood must make their pre-registration by the 30th of the current month.
The executive claims the Middle East shows “very great promise” when it comes to foodstuffs, and that the agency is working very closely with retailers in the region via trade marketing actions designed to increase sales of Brazilian products. Prado reveals that Apex-Brasil is also working on a schedule of meetings with major supermarkets in the region.
“We are already scheduling meetings with the Lulu Group and other retailers in order to sell Brazilian products, after which we will look into whether stronger points of sale actions are called for,” said Prado.
The executive also said the agency is working on inviting prospective buyers of Brazilian products to visit the national pavilion at Gulfood. At the 2016 edition of the Dubai expo, for the first time, a commercial consultant will be working one-on-one with visitors to take them to the Brazilian companies’ stands.
According to Prado, there’s room for a myriad of Brazilian products on the Arab market, in addition to those already sold such as beef and poultry. There is a potential, he said, for cheesebread, chocolate, açaí and spices such as rose pepper and black pepper.
“[Food] consumption and economic development are on the way up in the Arab market. They are looking for new flavors. Arabs’ tastes are very similar to Brazilians’, they really enjoy candy,” the Apex-Brasil coordinator mused.
This year’s edition of Gulfood featured 72 Brazilian companies, with deals projected to reach USD 646.5 million.
Gulfood
February 21st to 25th, 2016
Where: Dubai World Trade Center
Sheikh Zayed Rd – Dubai – United Arab Emirates
The pre-registration form is available at http://arq.apexbrasil.com.br/inscricoes/gulfood/2015/03/index.htm
For additional information on Gulfood go to http://arq.apexbrasil.com.br/emails/gulfood/2015/06/condicoes.pdf (in Portuguese)
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
