Marina Sarruf*
São Paulo – Brazil will promote a national fruits festival in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia next year. In the example of what happened in Poland, Portugal and Spain, last year, the supermarkets of the Carrefour chain in the two Arab countries will create spaces for tasting and promotion of Brazilian fruits.
The project, entitled Brazilian Fruit Festival, was implemented last year and will pass through 18 countries in Europe, Middle East, Asia and Americas before the end of 2006.
As well as the festival, this year a mission of businessmen and technicians will promote Brazilian fruits in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Qatar in May. The project is part of an agreement signed yesterday (25) between the Brazilian Fruit Institute (Ibraf) and the Brazilian Export Promotion Agency (Apex) with the aim of promoting fruits produced in Brazil in the Arab market, Southeast Asia and East Europe. About US$ 5.2 million will be invested.
"The Arab countries are an extraordinary market. Our objective is to invest in the region and find partnerships for the Brazilian companies," stated the Ibraf president, Moacyr Saraiva Fernandes. According to him, the Ibraf will take advantage that national companies will go to the food sector trade fair Saudi Food, between the 22nd and 26th of May, in Saudi Arabia, to organize a meeting between Brazilian businessmen and Arab officials.
"We will exhibit some products at the fair, such as fruits, juices and pulp and at the same time we will make contact with port, airport and customs authorities, traders and buyers from the great retail chains," said Fernandes.
According to Fernandes, these meetings will help to prospect the market. "We will sit at a table and see which fruits may be exported, see the customs tariffs, among other topics," he explained.
The Ibraf president stated that the Arab countries have potential to import not only fresh fruits, but also fruit products, such as juices, non-alcoholic beverages, frozen pulp and fruit nectar. "These countries have a very high average temperature and for religious reasons they do not drink alcoholic drinks, therefore they are increasingly open to consume our juices and fruit beverages," he added.
Exports aim
The Brazilian fruit exports aim for this year is of US$ 546.8 million, an increase in 20.4% in relation to the value exported in 2004. One of the objectives of the agreement between Apex and Ibraf is to expand the number of products in the export basket, with the addition of citric fruits, watermelon, persimmon, star fruit and temperate climate fruits.
According to information from the Ibraf, Brazilian fresh fruit exports went from US$ 120 million, in 1998, to US$ 370 million, last year, an increase in 208% in six years. Currently Brazil is the third greatest fruit producer in the world, surpassing 38 million tonnes.
*Translated by Silvia Lindsey
