São Paulo – Three Brazilian companies are participating for the first time in the Mactech, a fair in the industrial machinery and equipment sector, which began on Thursday (25) in Cairo, the Egyptian capital. Companies are going to exhibit at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce stand up to Sunday (28).
Indústrias Reunidas Colombo, for example, which is going to participate in the fair, wants to present to the Arabs its machinery for grain harvesting, like maize, peanuts and beans. According to the company’s presidential advisor, Acir Ferreira de Camargo Junior, Colombo has already made sales to Egypt and Lebanon and, early this year, closed three shipments to Sudan.
"We know that there is a very interesting market in North Africa, so we are betting on the fair," said Junior. According to him, Colombo has been investing in the Arab market for some time. The company has even participated in fairs in Saudi Arabia and Syria.
Headquartered in Pindorama, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Colombo has been in the Brazilian market for 35 years and exports to 34 countries. According to Junior, around 40% of company production is turned to the foreign market. One of the company’s differentials, according to Junior, is customer service. "When we sell machinery, we send a team of technicians for training," he said.
At Mactech, Junior said that one of the objectives is to find retailers in the Arab nations. The search for representatives is also one of the objectives of participation of Tatu Marchesan, an agricultural machinery supplier. “There is great potential in these Arab countries", said company representative Gustavo Lucchese.
According to him, Tatu Marchesan should promote small seeders and sowers at the fair, for possible use in family farming. The company has already exported to Egypt, but sporadically. Currently, the organisation is present in 60 countries, among them Sudan, where the company even has a representative. "This should be our first participation in an Arab fair," said Lucchese.
Established 80 years ago, Tatu Marchesan has 35% of production turned to the Arab market. Headquartered in Matão, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, the company produces several kinds of machinery and equipment.
The third company to participate in the Arab Brazilian Chamber stand is Apema, of industrial equipment, like heat exchangers, condensers and evaporators, among others. The company does not yet export to the Arab market.
According to the Market Development manager at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Rodrigo Solano, industrial and agricultural activities in Egypt are responsible for 50% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which shows potential to import machinery and equipment.
Last year, for example, Egypt imported US$ 6.13 billion, which makes the machinery and equipment sector responsible for 11% of country purchases on the international market and the main item in the import basket.
Brazilian exports of machinery and equipment to Egypt, however, are still small, considering what the country buys on the international market. From January to October, Brazil exported US$ 26.73 million, a reduction of 1.8% over the same period last year. The main products shipped were internal combustion engines, air pumps, compressors and bulldozers.
Last year, Mactech brought together 750 exhibitors from 44 countries. The event is promoted at the Cairo International Convention Center (CICC), in Nasr City.
*Translated by Mark Ament
